Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the first leading cause of death in the West Bank and worldwide. Potential drug-drug interactions (pDDI) contribute to a significant portion of adverse drug reaction, which has been shown to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Patients with CVDs require more attention regarding these interactions due to the complexity of their conditions and therapeutic regimen. The purposes of this study were to assess the prevalence, types and factors associated with pDDI among those patients.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Al-Watani Governmental Hospital and An-Najah National University Hospital - West Bank - Palestine. Data collection was completed by reviewing patient’s medical records and interviewing them. Potential DDI were identified using Lexi Comp interaction checker. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.
Findings: The study included 400 patients with CVDs. pDDI were identified in 93.8% of the patients. The patients in this study had a mean (± SD) of 3.14 ± 1.41 diseases, and were prescribed 1-16 medications on discharge with a mean (± SD) of 7.08±2.76. The most common comorbid disease was diabetes mellitus affecting 205 (51.2%) patients, followed by chronic kidney disease in 56 (14%) patients. Aspirin was the most frequently prescribed medication. The most frequent pDDI was furosemide - aspirin occurring in 148 (37%) of patients, followed by angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor - aspirin and Statins - proton pump inhibitors occurring in 131 (32.8%) and 129 (32.2%) cases, respectively. Results revealed that the number of pDDIs were associated with the number of diseases, total number of discharge medications and the length of hospital stay (p value< 0.001 for each).
Interpretation: The prevalence of pDDI among patients with CVDs is very high. Monitoring for pDDI should be performed regularly. Health care providers should help in optimizing the pharmacotherapy and recognizing pDDI that may change the patients' desired outcomes.