Identification and evaluation of drug-drug interactions among residents in Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Clinics

Aim of the study: to identify physicians’ attitudes towards the most common drug-drug interactions (DDIs) that might occur in daily clinical practice. Objectives: to explore: features of prescriptions, possible DDIs with other drugs currently used by patients; factors that might affect safe medication choice; physicians‘attitudes towards management of existing DDIs. Material and methods: a descriptive survey research was performed. The questionnaire, that was created according to a literature review, included: 7 demographic questions, 8 questions related to physicians’ actions prior to prescription, 19 drug pairs to evaluate their DDIs, and 2 questions about resident’s actions after a DDI occurred. Residents of LSMUL KK were asked to participate in the survey. Results: In total 39 questionnaires were analysed. 94,9% of residents relate to other medications used by a patient, 92,3% relate to concomitant diseases. 51,3% reported to check only spontaneously remembered DDIs. The Internet (97,4%), colleagues (51,3%) and package leaflets (53,8%) were the most common sources of information. The average amount of correctly identified DDIs were 5,5385 (s = 2,93658) out of 19. It is not affected by residency programme, time after medicine studies or the workplace. The most commonly correctly identified DDI was amoxicillin and acetaminophen (64,1%), the least commonly – sildenafil and bupropion, alprazolam and ketoconazole, and sildenafil and isosorbide dinitrate – 7,7% each (p