Abstract
Background:
The objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in patients on cancer chemotherapy, with the identification of risk factors for these DDIs.
Methods:
This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study carried out at the Department of Onco-Radiation at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, Punjab. The DDIs were recorded with the help of a drug interaction/interplay information software.
Results:
In total, 354 interactions were identified from 283 patient records. The mean age of the patients in the study was 49.05±14.35 years. According to the mechanism of interaction, 306 (86.44%) drug interactions were classified as pharmacokinetic and 48 (13.56%) as pharmacodynamic in nature.
Conclusions:
Sensitization of the treating oncologist and the establishment of alerts, such as electronic alerts or a novel fully digital computerized technology that gives a warning when a health expert enters a patient’s prescription orders into the electronic medical documentation, can be helpful in controlling DDIs.
Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.
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