Participation of a pharmacist in patient care for critically ill Covid-19 patients in Morocco: A prospective study

BACKGROUND: The experience of clinical pharmacists has been extensively studied these last 30 years but it is rarely described in our region Morocco. We aim through this work to explore the pharmacist's role in a Covid-19 critical care and to share the main drug-related problems and the pharmacist's recommendations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted in a Covid-19 critical care unit in a university-affiliated hospital in Morocco. The pharmacist joined the medical team and provided clinical pharmacy services to all patients admitted from 11th September 2020 to 11th January 2021. The Hatoum scale was used to assess PIs clinical impact. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A total of 362 PIs were performed on 106 critically ill Covid-19 patients. They were mainly represented by dose adjustment, drug discontinuation, treatment recall in 49.4%, 16.8%, and 9.4% of cases, respectively. ATC groups involved in PIs were as follows: J: anti-infective for systemic use (37.3%), B: blood and blood forming organs (18.2%), and P: antiparasitic products, insecticides and repellents (15.5%). The majority of PIs were accepted (90%). Their clinical impact was either significant (64.9%) or very significant (35.1%). CONCLUSION: The pharmacist was found helpful to manage pharmacotherapy of the Covid-19 population and to intercept medication errors, particularly dosage problems. It is therefore encouraged to expand this practice when possible in other medical units that have a potential of elevated drug errors, and to exploit these services during epidemics.