PHARMACISTS are missing the opportunity to pick up potential drug-related cardiac complications during medication reviews, according to a new study by pharmacists from the University of Canberra and the University of Tasmania.
A paper published last month in the Journal of Clinical Medicine has highlighted the issue after examining the use of "QT interval-prolonging drugs" in an elderly community-dwelling population at risk of medication misadventure.
The retrospective evaluation of 500 medication review reports looked at the individual risk of drug-induced QT interval prolongation in patients taking at least one such medication.
More than 10% of patients took at least one drug with a known risk, but in such cases pharmacists conducting the review provided specific recommendations in less than a quarter of these people.
In addition, where recommendations were made by the pharmacists these were focused on drugs with known risk of QT interval prolongation, rather than patients' additional risk factors, the paper noted.
"There is a need to improve knowledge and awareness of this topic among pharmacists performing medication reviews," the authors concluded.
They said the prolongation of the QT interval was a relatively rare but serious adverse drug reaction, because it can lead to the potentially life-threatening condition of torsade de pointes.
The paper is available online at www.mdpi.com.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 08 Jan 19
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 08 Jan 19
