Pharmacotherapy is essential in palliative medicine. Besides potential benefits, pharmacotherapy also poses potential risks that need to be minimized for patient safety. Pharmacists can play an important role in identifying, solving, and avoiding drug-related problems (DRPs). The aim of this study was to evaluate pharmaceutical interventions on safety of drug therapy in patients in an inpatient palliative care unit. All patients admitted to a palliative care unit over a 12-month period were screened for eligibility (ie, life expectancy >4 weeks). To identify and assess DRPs, patients' pharmacotherapy was evaluated by a pharmacist according to various aspects (eg, drug selection, dose selection, or treatment duration according to the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe classification for DRPs). During the 12-month period, 41 patients were included. Patients received a median of 11 (range, 1-22) different drugs. Overall, 207 DRPs were documented (median 5 DRPs/patient). After recording a DRP, the pharmacist directly intervened 290 times in order to solve the DRP, which was successful in 181/207 (88%). Clinically relevant DRPs are common in palliative medicine. The systematic assessment can support therapy decisions. This can result in optimized drug therapy, subsequently having a positive effect on symptom control and quality of life.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15360288.2021.1943596 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Association Between Surgeon Stress and Major Surgical Complications.
JAMA Surg
January 2025
Center for Surgery and Public Health, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Importance: Surgeon stress can influence technical and nontechnical skills, but the consequences for patient outcomes remain unknown.
Objective: To investigate whether surgeon physiological stress, as assessed by sympathovagal balance, is associated with postoperative complications.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This multicenter prospective cohort study included 14 surgical departments involving 7 specialties within 4 university hospitals in Lyon, France.
Palliative Care Initiated in the Emergency Department: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.
JAMA
January 2025
Department of Emergency Medicine, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, Michigan.
Importance: The emergency department (ED) offers an opportunity to initiate palliative care for older adults with serious, life-limiting illness.
Objective: To assess the effect of a multicomponent intervention to initiate palliative care in the ED on hospital admission, subsequent health care use, and survival in older adults with serious, life-limiting illness.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Cluster randomized, stepped-wedge, clinical trial including patients aged 66 years or older who visited 1 of 29 EDs across the US between May 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022, had 12 months of prior Medicare enrollment, and a Gagne comorbidity score greater than 6, representing a risk of short-term mortality greater than 30%.
Advanced Care Planning for the Orthopaedic Patient.
J Bone Joint Surg Am
January 2025
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
➢ Advanced care planning most commonly refers to the act of planning and preparing for decisions with regard to end-of-life care and/or serious illness based on a patient's personal values, life goals, and preferences.➢ Over time, advanced care planning and its formalization through advanced directives have demonstrated substantial benefits to patients, their families and caregivers, and the larger health-care system.➢ Despite these benefits, advanced care planning and advanced directives remain underutilized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExploring musculoskeletal disorders in end-stage kidney disease: a systematic review.
Med J Malaysia
January 2025
International Medical University, Department of Orthopaedics, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Introduction: This study focuses on the association between musculoskeletal disorders and chronic kidney disease (CKD), specifically end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Its primary objective is to explore the spectrum of musculoskeletal disorders and to identify their prevalence rates and symptoms within diverse CKD subpopulations.
Materials And Methods: The screening process yielded 13 studies conducted in various countries and regions.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!