Frequency and nature of drug‐related problems in patients with acute coronary syndrome: role of the clinical pharmacist in coronary care practice

Background Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) often have associated problems either as a reason or as a corollary of the disease and drug‐related problems (DRPs) are more likely to precipitate despite the presence of standard guidelines. This research is intended to evaluate the nature and extent of DRPs and examine their clinical significance in the presence of a clinical pharmacist. Methods A clinical pharmacist‐initiated cross‐sectional study was carried out in the Department of Cardiology unit in a tertiary care teaching hospital for a year. The patient's medications were audited for DRPs using PCNE V 8.0.1 and drug‐interactions by Micromedex. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied whenever required by using SPSS v 25.0. Results A total of 1120 patients screened, 432 patients were enrolled in the study by obtaining consent. The majority were in the age group 41–60 years of whom (294 (68.05 %)) were males. DRPs (367) were identified in (225 (52%)) patients of which (243 (66.13%) were due to problems in prescription, 27 (1.90%) treatment duration, followed by dispensing 43 (11.71%), drug use process 41 (11.17%) and patient‐related 38 (10.35%)). The overall incidence of DRPs was 51.85%. Most risk factors were associated with DRPs (p < 0.0001). Conclusion Drug‐related problems are common in patients with acute coronary syndrome due to comorbidities and its related polypharmacy. Physician and clinical pharmacist collaboration can help in the early detection of DRPs, and alleviate the adversities emphasising optimal pharmacotherapeutic management.