Background: Drug-drug interactions arising from polypharmacy in patients with chronic multiple comorbid conditions are one of the most important risk factors for the development of adverse drug outcomes. Therefore, it is important for the early detection and management of potential drug-drug interactions.
Objectives: This study aims to identify and manage the potential drug-drug interactions in patients with diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted for three months in the general medicine wards of a secondary care hospital. The medication charts of the eligible patients were reviewed to identify the potential drug-drug interactions using the Medscape Drug Interaction Checker. The details related to identified potential drug-drug interactions, such as type, severity, and outcome, were documented. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results: A total of forty patients were enrolled in the study. A total of 145 medications were used in 409 episodes. The mean ± SD number of medicines used was 10.2 ± 3.0 per patient. A total of 190 potential drug-drug interactions were identified involving 121 interacting drug pairs in 37 patients. The median (IQR) number of potential drug-drug interactions per patient was 4 (2.5-8). The highest number of potential drug-drug interactions documented was 13 in one patient. Ondansetron + Metformin was the most frequent (8/190, 4.2%) interacting drug pair documented. There were seven potential drug-drug interactions identified with serious severity (3.6%), and on five occasions, the pharmacotherapy was changed.
Conclusions: The frequency of pDDIs was high in patients diagnosed with both diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Healthcare providers must be vigilant in the early detection and management of these potential drug-drug interactions.
