Profile of pharmaceutical interventions performed in an Intensive Care Unit of a university hospital in the Northern Region of Brazil: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: Describe the profile of pharmaceutical interventions (PIs) carried out in an intensive care unit of a university hospital. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, observational, retrospective, and quantitative study, with primary and secondary data collection from patients admitted to the intensive care unit between September 2022 and February 2023. Results: During the study months, 624 pharmaceutical progress notes were evaluated. The average age of the patients was 56 years for men and 51 years for women; furthermore, 79% had some comorbidity, with diabetes and hypertension being the most frequent. A total of 345 pharmaceutical interventions were performed, categorized, and quantified, of which 91.6% were fully accepted by the team. The need for addition (27.5%) was the most frequent intervention, followed by medication discontinuation (20.3%), route of administration change (11.6%), and dosage adjustment (7.5%). The medications most associated with PIs were dipyrone, omeprazole, vancomycin, and tramadol. Conclusion: Clinical pharmacists are indispensable professionals in the multidisciplinary team, and their role contributes to reducing adverse drug events, decreasing hospital costs, and improving the quality of care in hospitals.