Identifying potential drug interactions in chronic kidney disease patients

INTRODUCTION: Drug interactions (DIs) are common in clinical practice and are directly related to factors such as polypharmacy, aging, hepatic metabolism and decreased renal function. Individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often require multiple classes of drugs being at important risk for the development of DIs. OBJECTIVE: Identify potential interactions among drugs prescribed to patients with CKD on conservative treatment, and factors associated with their occurrence. METHODS: Observational cross-sectional study, with analysis of 558 prescriptions. Potential DIs were identified by the database MICROMEDEX®, software that provides an internationally known pharmacopoeia. RESULTS: There was a predominance of males (54.7%), seniors (69.4%), stage 3 CKD (47.5%), overweight and obese patients (66.7%). The most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension (68.5%) and diabetes mellitus (31.9%). Potential DIs were detected in 74.9% of prescriptions. Among the 1364 DIs diagnosed, 5 (0.4%) were contraindicated and 229 (16.8%) of greater severity, which need immediate intervention. Interactions of moderate and low severity were identified in 1049 (76.9%) and 81 (5.9%) prescriptions, respectively. The probability of one DI increased by 2.5 times for each additional drug (CI = 2.18 to 3.03). Obesity, hypertension, diabetes as well as advanced stage of CKD were risk factors strongly associated with DI occurrence. CONCLUSION: Drug associations in individuals with CKD were related to high prevalence of serious DIs, especially in the later stages of the disease.