Assessment of a Clinical Pharmacy Activity in a Pediatric Inpatient Department in Cote D’ivoire

BACKGROUND: Clinical pharmacy activities in a pediatric inpatient department help to improve the management of patients clinically and economically. OBJECTIVE: To assess the relevance of pharmaceutical interventions (PIs) in a pediatric inpatient department in Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional, descriptive study from February to September 2014. The information collected was classified according to the classification of drug-related problems (DRPs) and PIs of the French Society of Clinical Pharmacy. The score assigned to each PI varied from PI(0) (without direct clinical impact) to PI(3) (vital clinical impact) as the importance of the potential clinical impact of the DRP was correlated to the severity of clinical consequences avoided by the PI. The relevance of PIs was assessed by their rate of acceptance by physicians and by the analysis of their clinical impact. RESULTS: A total of 116 PIs were performed with 31% performed during medical rounds, 68.1% during patients’ records analysis, and 0.1% on patient's admission. The main DRPs were related to noncompliance with recommendations (24.1%), overdose (21.1%), and underdosing (13.8%). The most important PIs were dose adjustment (31.8%), accuracy of drugs administration modalities (29.3%), and proposals of therapeutic choice (27.6%). The acceptance rate of PIs was highly significant (94.8%). The majority of PIs (67.3%) was assessed as having a significant clinical impact (PI(1)) and 16.4% of PIs as very significant clinical impact (PI(2)). A single PI (0.9%) was found with vital clinical impact. CONCLUSION: PIs performed were relevant and contributed to the therapeutic optimization and the prevention of iatrogenic events in pediatric inpatients.