Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A (2024)

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) changes the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of the various drugs excreted through the kidneys which increases the risk of DDIs. In CKD patients’ prescriptions, polypharmacy is the common cause of occurring DDIs. DDIs alters the effects of one another drug by decreasing or diminishing the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and other mechanism of the drugs in the body. The aim of this study is to assess the DDIs in the prescriptions of CKD patients. Ambi-directional observational study was conducted for six months among the CKD patients admitted to the in-patient nephrology ward of Mahavir Hospital and research center in Hyderabad. The DDIs of the prescribed drugs were classified as per Clinirex. A total of 101 prescriptions were included. A total of 742 drug interactions were reported. Around 73.18% were monitored closely, 17.12% were unclassified, 4.99% adjust dosing, 3.50% generally avoid and 1.21% were contraindicated. The average number of DDI per prescription was 7.35 thus results indicated that it was more. The DDIs may show immediate adverse outcomes or delayed adverse outcomes thus follow-up for a longer duration is necessary for predicting clinically important outcomes of these DDIs. Early detection of DDIs is necessary in the prescriptions of patients with CKD as it can lead to serious adverse outcomes. Thus, it is necessary for a clinical pharmacist to collaborate with the nephrologist and develop strategies for appropriate and continuous follow-up and monitoring of patients with CKD for a longer duration.