Knowledge and information sources of potential drug–drug interactions of healthcare professionals among Buraydah Hospitals

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Drug–drug interactions (DDI) are known to increase the risk of morbidity and mortality, and adversely affect the patient's quality of life. The study was to assess healthcare professional's (HCP) knowledge of DDIs in general hospitals of Buraydah. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling methods was conducted among 135 healthcare professionals in general hospitals of Buraydah between November and December 2016. The study was carried out after approval and permission from the Regional Research Ethics Committee (November 2016). Respondents were asked to classify 15 drug pairs as 'contraindicated', 'could be used with monitoring', or 'no interaction'. A response option of 'not sure' was also provided. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The descriptive analysis was done using frequency distribution and percentage for demographic data and other responses to questions. Data were collected, tabulated, and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 23). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the independent variables that affect the HCP knowledge, the significant levels were set at p-value < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 135 healthcare professionals were included in the study. The percentage of HCPs who correctly classified the drug pairs ranged from 15 (11.1%) for "Allopurinol + Pyrazinamide" to 90 (66.7%) for "acetaminophen with codeine + amoxicillin". The average number of correctly categorized drug pairs was 5. About one-half of the respondents 73 (54.1%) answered correctly. The level of education was found to be an independent predictor of DDI knowledge. The results from the multivariate analysis indicated that a higher potential DDI knowledge level was associated with pharmacists. Pharmacists had 8.27 times higher DDI knowledge tests than nurses, P value = 0.001. Pharmacists 43(31.9%) were the most cited information source. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that health care professional’s DDI knowledge was inadequate. Level of education was significantly associated with healthcare professionals’ DDI knowledge. Pharmacists were the most cited DDI information source. Healthcare professionals should update their DDI knowledge through continuing education and should improve their familiarity with DDI information sources. These updated educations help to provide the appropriate therapeutic outcomes.