Abstract

Drug interaction is defined as the influence that drugs can have on other co-administered drugs. It becomes a concern when it has a significant, described, or potentially serious clinical impact. It is likely to cause or worsen drug adverse reactions or lead to ineffective treatment. The objective was to assess drug-drug interactions in the Cardiovascular service. This was a cross-sectional study carried out in patients admitted for consultation or hospitalization in the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Diseases department of Bouaké University Hospital from July 1 to September 30, 2020. Patients who were at least 18 years old and had more than one medication at the end of the consultation were included in the study. A total of 322 patients were retained. The mean age of the patients was 58.3±15.0 years, with a female predominance (57.1%). The sex ratio was 0.75. Hypertension was the most common diagnosis (59.9%), followed by dilated cardiomyopathy (15.2%). The treatments found were antihypertensive drugs (49%), followed by anti-inflammatory drugs (16.7%). The prevalence of drug interactions was 64.3%. The most frequent drug combinations were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs/Diuretics (24.8%) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/Diuretics (16.2%). These interactions caused risk of kidney failure (24.4%) and sudden low blood pressure (23.3%). Female sex appeared to be related to the occurrence of drug interactions (p = 0.015; RR = 3.74). Drug interaction is a reality in the population of polypharmacologic and polypharmacologic elderly, particularly female subjects. The contribution of the clinical pharmacologist is necessary in situations of polypharmacy.

Key words: Pharmacovigilance, cardiology, drug-drug interaction, pharmacokinetics, hyperkaliemia.