Clinical pharmacist's contribution to quality of life and adherence to treatment in patients with stroke

Stroke is defined as the sudden onset of a focal neurological problem lasting more than 24 hours, is one of the leading causes of repetitive and disability, affecting the quality of life of the patients negatively, causing depressive symptoms. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical pharmacist's contribution to reduce the risk of stroke development, adherence with treatment and improving quality of life in patients with a history of stroke, and assessing patient satisfaction. This prospective, randomized and controlled study was carried out between 01 October 2018 and 01 July 2019 at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine Neurology Department Neurology Intensive Care, Neurology Service and Stroke Unit and Ankara University Neurology Department Ibn-i Sina Hospital Neurology Intensive Care and Neurology Service. Patients with stroke for the first time were included in the study and followed up by the clinical pharmacist for 3 months. Total of 102 patients were included in the study and 294 interviews were conducted with the patients. The change in the drug adherence of the patients in the intervention group over time was statistically significant (p<0.001). The scores of the patients in the intervention group from the energy and work/productivity subscales at the first and third months after discharge were found to be higher than the patients in the control group (p<0.05). The satisfaction of the patients in the intervention group was found to be higher than the patients in the control group (p<0.001). As a result, it was observed that stroke patients had improved drug adherence and quality of life with education given by clinical pharmacist. In patients with a history of stroke, to provide better compliance with treatment, to improve quality of life after stroke, and to protect from the second stroke the important contribution of clinical pharmacist, as a member of multidisciplinary team, needs to be considered.