Evaluation of clinical pharmacy services in liver transplantation patients

Aim: The aim of this study was to provide clinical pharmacy services to patients hospitalized in the Liver Transplant Institute and to reveal the contribution of the clinical pharmacist by verbally sharing possible drug-related problems (DRP) and solution suggestions with the relevant physician and/or other healthcare personnel. Material and method: The study was conducted at Inonu University Turgut Özal Medical Center Liver Transplant Institute between May 1 and October 30, 2023. During this period, DRPs observed in patients who were hospitalized in the ward and intensive care unit of the Liver Transplant Institute, who were liver transplant recipients and who were taking at least 1 drug were prospectively evaluated. The Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) v.9.1 classification system was used to classify these problems. Clinical and demographic data were compared in patients with and without DRP. Findings: At least one DRP was detected in 311 of the 373 patients included in the study and a total of 620 DRP were recorded in 373 patients. The median value of the number of drugs used by patients with DRP was 16 (range: 12-20), while the median value was 13.5 (range: 8-27) in patients without DRP (p<0.05). In the study, 620 suggestions were made to the responsible physician and nurse and 547 (88.2%) of these were accepted and 73 (11.8%) were not accepted. When the distribution of DRPs according to their causes was analyzed, it was found that ''dose selection'' (C3) was the most common cause with 44.2%, followed by ''drug selection'' (C1) with 26.1%. The presence of at least one comorbidity, diabetes and acute kidney injury were found to increase the risk of DRP (p<0.05). Conclusion: As part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team, the clinical pharmacist can contribute to treatment success by taking part in the identification and management of DRP.