Abstract
This study has collected prescriptions of individual chronic outpatients in an army hospital, analysed them, and investigated the possible drug interactions. It also reviewed the mechanism of drug interactions. Out of total of 42 outpatients with chronic diseases, the percentages of populations having hypertension, hypertension with diabetes, uncomplicated diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension with cardiac insufficiency, and ventricular septal defect were 62%, 19%, 10%, 5%, 2%, and 2%, in the corresponding order. The average number medications prescribed for the outpatients were 2.5 with the highest frequency of five medications in two patients. The number of drug-drug interactions detected was 456 prescriptions out of total of 1104 prescriptions during the study period, accounting for 41.3%. The most frequent drug-drug interaction was between beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers with 132 prescriptions followed by one between beta-blockers and cimetidine with 89 prescriptions. Based on the high incidence of possibly dangerous drug interactions, much attention needs to be aid to the drug-drug interactions in the pharmacotherapy for the treatment of outpatients with chronic diseases in army hospital setting.
