Evaluation of Drug-Related Problems in Inpatients at the Neurology Department of Tertiary University Hospital in Türkiye

Background and Aims: The prevalence and characteristics of drug-related problems (DRPs) and factors associated with the occurrence of DRPs in inpatients in the neurology department in Türkiye remain unknown. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of DRPs and to identify drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in the neurology department of a tertiary university hospital in Türkiye.Methods: This prospective study with clinical pharmacist (CP) intervention was conducted at the Department of Neurology, Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine Hospital, between December 2023 and June 2024 by clinical pharmacy residents (CPRs). The characteristics of DRPs were categorised using the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) DRP classification tool V9.1, and DDIs were identified using Micromedex® drug interaction software.Results: A total of 106 DRPs were detected in 63 inpatients, an average of 1.68 DRPs per patient. Using the PCNE classification system, treatment safety (P2) was identified as the most common type of DRP (69; 65.09%), whereas drug selection (C1) was the primary cause (94; 83.93%). CPRs provided a total of 120 interventions, and most interventions occurred at the prescriber level (I1) (107; 89.17%), and all were accepted. A total of 205 DDIs were detected (59/63;93.65%), most of which were classified as major (136;66.34%).Conclusions: This study demonstrates that DRPs can occur at any stage of the prescribing process and are common among inpatients in the neurology department in Türkiye. These findings may encourage further research on the roles of CPs in neurology departments using controlled study designs.