Drug-related problems in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with dyslipidemia

BACKGROUND Drug-Related Problems (DRPs) commonly occur among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. However, few studies have been performed on T2DM patients with dyslipidemia. This purpose of this study was to assess drug-related problems (DRPs) and factors associated with its occurrence. METHODS The retrospective study involved 208 T2DM in-patients and out-patients with dyslipidemia, and was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Malaysia from January 2009 to December 2011. The identification and assessment of DRPs were based on the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) tool version 5.01. The potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults was assessed based on the American Geriatrics Society updated Beers Criteria. RESULTS A total of 406 DRPs were identified. Among these patients, 91.8% had at least one DRP, averaging 1.94±1.10 problems per patient. The majority of T2DM patients with dyslipidemia (91.8%) had at least one DRP. The most frequent types of DRP were potential drug-drug interaction (18.0%), drug not taken or administered (14.3%) and insufficient awareness of health and diseases (11.8%). Anti-hypertensive, lipid-modifying and anti-diabetic agents were the drug classes that were most likely to be associated with DRPs. Male gender, renal impairment, polypharmacy and poor lipid control were factors that were significantly associated with DRP in diabetic dyslipidemia patients. CONCLUSION Early identification of DRPs and factors associated with them are essential to prevent and resolve DRPs in T2DM patients with dyslipidemia.