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Identification of patients at-risk of QT interval prolongation during medication reviews: a missed opportunity?
Citation
Buss, VH and Lee, K and Naunton, M and Peterson, GM and Kosari, S, Identification of patients at-risk of QT interval prolongation during medication reviews: a missed opportunity?, Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7, (12) Article 533. ISSN 2077-0383 (2018) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2018 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Abstract
The prolongation of the QT interval is a relatively rare but serious adverse drug reaction. It can lead to torsade de pointes, which is potentially life-threatening. The study’s objectives were: determine the use of QT interval-prolonging drugs in an elderly community-dwelling population at risk of medication misadventure and identify recommendations regarding the risk of QT interval prolongation made by pharmacists when performing medication reviews. In a retrospective evaluation, 500 medication review reports from Australian pharmacists were analysed. In patients taking at least one QT interval-prolonging drug, the individual risk of drug-induced QT interval prolongation was assessed. Recommendations of pharmacists to avoid the occurrence of this drug-related problem were examined. There was a high prevalence of use of potentially QT interval-prolonging drugs (71% patients), with 11% of patients taking at least one drug with a known risk. Pharmacists provided specific recommendations in only eight out of 35 patients (23%) with a high-risk score and taking drugs with known risk of QT interval prolongation. Pharmacists’ recommendations, when present, were focused on drugs with known risk of QT interval prolongation, rather than patients’ additional risk factors. There is a need to improve knowledge and awareness of this topic among pharmacists performing medication reviews.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | medication review, cardiac arrhythmia, safety, pharmacists |
| Research Division: | Medical and Health Sciences |
| Research Group: | Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences |
| Research Field: | Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice |
| Objective Division: | Health |
| Objective Group: | Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) |
| Objective Field: | Cardiovascular System and Diseases |
| UTAS Author: | Peterson, GM (Professor Gregory Peterson) |
| ID Code: | 129704 |
| Year Published: | 2018 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 4 |
| Deposited By: | Pharmacy |
| Deposited On: | 2018-12-14 |
| Last Modified: | 2019-02-22 |
| Downloads: | 20 View Download Statistics |
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