Table 4. Types of drug-related problems, per therapeutic class, identified during the non-randomized controlled clinical trial on ward-based pharmacist and hospital readmission, Sri Lanka, 2013–2014.
| Therapeutic class of medicine | Most commonly prescribed medicines | Type of drug-related problem, no. |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adverse drug reaction | Dosing error | Wrong medicine or no medicine | Drug use problem | Interaction | Othera | ||
| Medicine used for allergy or anaphylaxis | Chlorpheniramine, flunarizine, loratadine, cinnarizine, fexofenadine, cetirizine | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Analgesics | Paracetamol, diclofenac, tramadol | 5 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Anti-infectives | Co-amoxiclav, amoxicillin, cloxacillin, penicillin, cefuroxime, cefixime, clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, metronidazole | 4 | 56 | 76 | 9 | 18 | 0 |
| Cardiovascular medicines | Atorvastatin, aspirin, losartan, isosorbide mononitrate, furosemide, clopidogrel, glyceryl trinitrate, enalapril, spironolactone, atenolol | 163 | 26 | 378 | 88 | 33 | 131 |
| Endocrine medicines | Metformin, tolbutamide, insulin, gliclazide, thyroxine, glibenclamide, alendronate sodium | 3 | 13 | 76 | 73 | 34 | 14 |
| Ear and ophthalmic medicines | Betahistine, prednisolone eye drops, xylometazoline, timolol | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gastrointestinal medicines | Omeprazole, pantoprazole, esomeprazole, famotidine, lactulose, domperidone, ursodiol, Helicobacter pylori kitb | 3 | 102 | 125 | 5 | 53 | 0 |
| Genitourinary medicines | Tamsulosin, finasteride, sildenafil | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Immunomodulators and antineoplastics | Azathioprine, methotrexate, betamethasone, dexamethasone, prednisolone, sulfasalazine | 20 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Neurological medicines | Phenytoin, sodium valproate, carbamazepine, carbidopa/levodopa, benzhexol, gabapentin, pregabalin | 0 | 4 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Psychotropic medicines | Amitriptyline, fluoxetine, alprazolam, clonazepam, phenobarbital, risperidone, diazepam, olanzapine, zolpidem, aripiprazole | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Respiratory medicines | Salbutamol, beclomethasone, fluticasone/salmeterol, theophylline, budesonide/formoterol | 0 | 22 | 97 | 13 | 20 | 1 |
| Vitamins and mineral supplements | Folic acid, calcium t, vitamin B, iron, multivitamins, vitamin C, 1-alfa-cholecalciferol, vitamin A+D | 1 | 3 | 70 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
a Treatment failure, patient dissatisfied with therapy despite taking drug(s) correctly, poor understanding of disease, unclear complaints.
b Patient receives triple therapies for 10–14 days. The treatment regimens are: (i) omeprazole, amoxicillin and clarithromycin for 10 days; (ii) bismuth subsalicylate, metronidazole, and tetracycline for 14 days; and (iii) lansoprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin, which has been approved for either 10 days or 14 days of treatment.
Note: We could not classify 402 drug-related problems into a single therapeutic class.