Page 243 - EJMO-9-3

Eurasian Journal of
Medicine and Oncology ICU pharmacists and clinical outcomes

the magnitude of benefit demonstrated. Policymakers demographic groups. Ultimately, integrating CCPs represents
and healthcare leaders should advocate for expanding not only a pharmacological intervention but also a structural
pharmacist roles in the ICU beyond the traditional scope. advancement in ICU team-based care, contributing to safer,
Furthermore, educational and professional development more efficient, and outcome-driven patient management.
programs must be tailored to produce pharmacists with the
advanced competencies required for critical care practice. Acknowledgments
This integration may also be cost-effective. Although our None.
analysis did not focus on economic outcomes, prior studies
have shown that pharmacist interventions lead to reduced Funding
length of stay, MRPs, and lower hospital readmissions, all None.
contributing to healthcare cost savings. 48,49

5. Limitations Conflict of interest
Despite the compelling results, several limitations should The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
be acknowledged: Author contributions
(i) Heterogeneity: There was significant heterogeneity
among the included studies in terms of design, sample Conceptualization: Mohamed S. Imam, Fawaz Saad Yahya
size, CCP roles, and outcome definitions. While Thabit
random-effects modeling mitigates this statistically, Data curation: All authors
clinical heterogeneity remains a consideration. Writing – original draft: All authors
(ii) Study design: Only a few of the included studies Writing – review & editing: All authors
were randomized trials; most were observational,
potentially introducing bias. Ethics approval and consent to participate
(iii) Inadequate subgroup data: The inability to perform Not applicable.
subgroup analyses based on variables such as age,
gender, severity scores, ICU type (e.g., medical vs. Consent for publication
surgical), and comorbidities limits the granularity of Not applicable.
the findings.
(iv) Lack of long-term outcomes: Most studies reported Availability of data
only in-hospital outcomes. The long-term impact of
CCPs on quality of life, post-ICU syndrome, or 90-day The data analyzed in this meta-analysis were extracted
mortality remains to be clarified. from publicly available publications, with full citations and
(v) Economic evaluation: While improved clinical article links provided in the references section.
outcomes often translate to cost savings, this analysis References
did not explore cost-effectiveness, which is an essential
consideration for implementation. 1. Pronovost PJ, Angus DC, Dorman T, Robinson KA,
Dremsizov TT, Young TL. Physician staffing patterns and
6. Conclusion clinical outcomes in critically ill patients: A systematic
review. JAMA. 2002;288(17):2151-2162.
This systematic review and meta-analysis provide
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into ICU teams is associated with significantly lower 2. Arredondo E, Udeani G, Horseman M, Hintze TD, Surani S.
mortality and fewer ADEs among critically ill patients. Role of clinical pharmacists in intensive care units. Cureus.
The findings reinforce the importance of pharmacist-led 2021;13(9):e17929.
pharmacotherapy optimization, antimicrobial stewardship, doi: 10.7759/cureus.17929
and interdisciplinary collaboration in intensive care
settings. Given the clinical relevance of these outcomes 3. Lee H, Ryu K, Sohn Y, Kim J, Suh GY, Kim E. Impact
and the increasing complexity of ICU pharmacotherapy, on patient outcomes of pharmacist participation in
multidisciplinary critical care teams: A systematic review
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routine deployment of CCPs as a strategic priority. Future
studies should aim to address remaining gaps, including doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000003830
the cost-effectiveness of CCP services, long-term patient 4. Jacobi J, Kane‐Gill S, Boucher B. Critical care pharmacists
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Volume 9 Issue 3 (2025) 235 doi: 10.36922/EJMO025150116