Drugs Destroyed in Intensive Care and Their Annual Financial Burden

Purpose: Unused medications can be considered a waste of resources. By reducing waste, the cost of healthcare services can be lowered without compromising the quality of patient care. This study aims to measure pharmaceutical waste in intensive care, draw attention to the economic dimension of waste, identify the causes of waste, and discuss possible preventive measures.Materials and Methods: In a tertiary care unit with 15 beds at Adana City Hospital, the wasted drugs in one year were prospectively recorded.Results: In a tertiary care unit where 1245 patients were treated in one year, the total cost of drugs annually was 226241.7 TL (approximately 5258 US dollars). Enteral nutrition solutions were the most wasted drug by volume, accounting for 33% of wasted drug volume. Levofloxacin caused the greatest cost loss among the wasted drugs, accounting for 18.4% of the total wasted drug cost. At least one drug was wasted in 30.4% (n=379/1245) of the patients. A total of 580 drug waste events were recorded. Disposal was detected in drugs with 26 different active ingredients. The most common reasons for drug waste were identified as: disposal of diluted solutions (59.7%, n=346), disposal of partially used drugs due to lack of small doses (31.7%, n=184), and disposal of contaminated drugs (8.6%, n=50).Conclusion: Identifying the causes of waste is essential for initiating preventive measures. The extent and causes of drug waste should be determined in each clinic, and waste reduction strategies should be developed by optimizing drug preparation.