Neelima Ganzi1, Savitha Rajapur Sanathan1, Subhash Chandra Ballekere Jayaram2, Easwaran Vigneshwaran3 and Pramod Kumar Teggina Mat4
Published in: Journal of Young Pharmacists, 07 December 2023; 15(4): 616.Published online: 07 December 2023DOI: 10.5530/jyp.2023.15.86
ABSTRACT
Critical care pharmacist in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) provides pharmaceutical care services to improve the quality of care for ICU patients by identifying and resolving drug-related problems and monitoring drug therapy for safety and efficacy. The clinical pharmacist plays a vital role in the care of critically ill patients. The morbidity and mortality of ICU patients vary depending on the patient’s age, underlying health conditions, and severity of their illness. The mortality rate for ICU patients is high. According to the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), the average mortality rate for adult ICU patients was 10% to 29%. However, the mortality rate is much higher in patients with certain disease conditions, such as sepsis (30% to 50%), Acute Respiratory Distress syndrome (ARDs) (40% to 60%), and Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) (20% to 30%). Clinical pharmacists in the ICU team can help to reduce and prevent medication errors, drug-related problems, drug interactions, and adverse drug events and improve patient outcomes. Pharmaceutical care services include medication reconciliation, drug dosing calculation in patients with reduced renal and hepatic function, therapeutic drug monitoring, medication optimization, adverse event reporting, and patient counseling. Pharmaceutical care services in the ICU are designed to improve the safety and effective use of medications and the quality of care for critically ill patients.
Keywords: Pharmaceutical care services, Critically ill, Intensive care unit, Clinical pharmacist