Page 17 - JCTR-10-3

Journal of Clinical and Translational Research 2024; 10(3): 191-200

Journal of Clinical and Translational Research

Journal homepage: http://www.jctres.com/en/home

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Drug therapy problems related to cardiovascular agents and associated

factors among heart failure patients: a prospective observational study

of a tertiary inpatient setting in Uganda

Efrata Ashuro Shegena * , Julius Kyomya , Merab Babirye 1 , Asteway Ashuro Shegena , Tadele Mekuriya Yadesa 1,4
1,2
3
1
1 Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda, Department of Clinical
2
Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Hawassa
3
University, Hawassa, Ethiopia, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, Kampala International
4
University, Ishaka, Uganda
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Article history: Background: Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome that is treated with multiple medications,
Received: December 13, 2023 putting patients at risk of drug therapy problems (DTPs). DTPs are a great concern in health care
Accepted: February 29, 2024 due to their significant impact on morbidity, mortality, and higher costs associated with health care.
Published Online: May 28, 2024 Aims: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with DTPs related to
cardiovascular agents among HF patients hospitalized at the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital.
Keywords: Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted among hospitalized HF patients from
Heart failure November 2021 to January 2022. A total of 118 patients diagnosed with HF were recruited. Patient
Drug therapy problem file reviews and interviewer-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. Univariate
Cardiovascular agents and multivariate logistic regressions were employed to determine factors associated with the DTPs.
Result: A total of 118 HF patients with a median age of 43 years were included in this study.
*Corresponding author: Among them, 57 participants experienced a total of 81 DTPs with a prevalence of 48.3%. “Dosage
Efrata Ashuro Shegena too high” was the most common DTP (23, 28.3%) followed by “needs additional drug therapy”
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, (22, 27.2%). Hospitalized HF patients aged 60 years and above (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 4.1;
Mbarara University of Science and Technology, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.5 – 10.3]; P = 0.012) and taking more than five medications during
Mbarara, Uganda. their hospital stay (AOR: 2.92; 95% CI: [1.5 – 7.6]; P = 0.029) were significantly associated with
Email: ashuroefrata@gmail.com experiencing at least one DTP.
Conclusion: Almost half of the hospitalized HF patients experienced at least one DTP during
© 2024 Author(s). This is an Open-Access their hospital stay. “Dosage too high” and “needs additional drug therapy” were the most common
article distributed under the terms of the DTPs. Hospitalized HF patients with poly-pharmacy (taking more than five cardiovascular agents)
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial and aged above 60 were more likely to have DTPs. It is noted that patient groups who are at
License, permitting all non-commercial use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, risk require follow-ups to improve the treatment outcome, and incorporation of clinical pharmacy
provided the original work is properly cited. service could be part of the solution.
Relevance for Patients: This study identifies the factors associated with the development of
DTP to facilitate the development and implementation of prevention strategies for the commonly
identified DTPs.

1. Introduction

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome characterized by functional or structural
impairments of the heart leading to the inability of the organ to fill with or pump a sufficient
amount of blood to meet the metabolic needs of the body [1,2]. HF can be managed by
lifestyle modification and lifelong therapy with multiple medications [3]. There has been
a consistent increase in the number of medications used in HF patients, but this has been

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36922/jctr.23.00137