Background: Several diseases co-exist with diabetes such as hypertension, and dyslipidemia, leading to cases of non-adherence, several drug interactions, and an increased risk of adverse drug reactions among patients, which are often termed as drug-related problems (DRPs). The role of pharmacists in high-income countries is well-defined in identifying DRPs among type 2 diabetes patients. However, these roles still need to be explored within low- and middle-income countries. The study aimed to identify DRPs in Type 2 diabetic patients.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Sunwal Municipality, Lumbini Province, Nepal from April to November 2021 where a stratified random sampling technique was employed to collect the data. The study included patients aged ≥ 18 years of either gender with type 2 diabetes who were prescribed at least one anti-diabetic medication. Patients were visited at their homes once identified through the community pharmacies, and a prescription review was conducted to identify the DRPs by using the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) V8.02 tool and pertinent guidelines.
Results: Among 182 patients, 97 (53.3%) had DRPs. Most of the patients were 50-60 years (n = 46; 25.3%), with a mean ± SD age of 55.43±14.46, as most were female (n = 94; 51.6%). Biguanides and sulfonylureas were the common classes of drugs prescribed. The major class of drug associated with DRPs were biguanides (n = 85; 49.7%), followed by sulfonylureas (n = 42; 24.6%). Metformin was the major drug associated with DRPs (n = 85; 49.4%). The major type of DRP identified was treatment effectiveness (n = 82; 79.61%), while patients not adhering to drug therapy (n = 97; 71.85%) was the leading cause of DRPs. DRPs were significantly associated with the duration of diabetes (p = .007) and the number of fruit servings (p = .007).
Conclusion: The majority of the patients were found to have DRPs. The visiting patients at home by the pharmacists helped in identifying the DRPs and associated factors among type 2 diabetes patients, which may aid in the prevention and management of the disease.
Copyright: © 2024 Chapagain et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.