Bedside pharmacist interventions for managing intravenous drug incompatibilities in critically ill patients
4 affiliations
- 1State University of Rio de Janeiro, Pedro Ernesto University Hospital, Pharmacy Service, Brazil
- 2State University of Rio de Janeiro, Faculty of Nursing, Brazil
- 3State University of Rio de Janeiro, Faculty of Biological Sciences and Health, Department of Pharmacy, Brazil
- 4Fluminense Federal University, Postgraduate Program in Pharmaceutical Care Management (PPG-GAFAR), Niterói, Brazil
Abstract
Background
Patients admitted to intensive care units are at increased risk of intravenous drug incompatibilities, owing to polypharmacy and the limited number of available venous access devices.Objective
To evaluate bedside pharmacist interventions for managing drug incompatibilities identified during intravenous administration in intensive care unit patients.Methods
A cross-sectional study with prospective data collection was conducted between June and December 2025 in five intensive care units of a university hospital. Two pharmacists assessed medication administration at the bedside and checked compatibility using the Micromedex and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Injectable Drug Information databases. The type and number of central venous access devices, infusion modality, proposed interventions, and the healthcare team's response were recorded. Data were described using absolute and relative frequencies.Results
A total of 887 infusions were analyzed in 88 patients, of which 159 corresponded to occurrences of incompatibility or lack of compatibility data (73 distinct drug combinations). Of these 159 occurrences, 135 (84.9%) were incompatible, and 24 (15.1%) lacked compatibility studies. Most of the pharmacist interventions performed were accepted by the healthcare team (130/159; 81.8%).Conclusions
The high frequency of incompatibilities observed is related to the large number of intravenous medications and the complexity of therapeutic regimens used in intensive care. Bedside pharmacist involvement proved feasible and contributed to safer medication administration practices in these units.
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BibTeX
@article{souza2026bedside,
title = {{Bedside pharmacist interventions for managing intravenous drug incompatibilities in critically ill patients}},
author = {Allan Carneiro de Souza and Joiciane Dias Rodrigues Neves and André Luis Félix da Silva Terres and Gabriel Gonçalves da Silva and Luana Ferreira de Almeida and Arnaldo Couto and Sabrina Calil Elias and Selma Rodrigues de Castilho},
journal = {Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.rcsop.2026.100863},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13717157},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Bedside pharmacist interventions for managing intravenous drug incompatibilities in critically ill patients
AU - Allan Carneiro de Souza
AU - Joiciane Dias Rodrigues Neves
AU - André Luis Félix da Silva Terres
AU - Gabriel Gonçalves da Silva
AU - Luana Ferreira de Almeida
AU - Arnaldo Couto
AU - Sabrina Calil Elias
AU - Selma Rodrigues de Castilho
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy
DO - 10.1016/j.rcsop.2026.100863
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13717157
AB - Background Patients admitted to intensive care units are at increased risk of intravenous drug incompatibilities, owing to polypharmacy and the limited number of available venous access devices.Objective To evaluate bedside pharmacist interventions for managing drug incompatibilities identified during intravenous administration in intensive care unit patients.Methods A cross-sectional study with prospective data collection was conducted between June and December 2025 in five intensive care units of a university hospital. Two pharmacists assessed medication administration at the bedside and checked compatibility using the Micromedex and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Injectable Drug Information databases. The type and number of central venous access devices, infusion modality, proposed interventions, and the healthcare team's response were recorded. Data were described using absolute and relative frequencies.Results A total of 887 infusions were analyzed in 88 patients, of which 159 corresponded to occurrences of incompatibility or lack of compatibility data (73 distinct drug combinations). Of these 159 occurrences, 135 (84.9%) were incompatible, and 24 (15.1%) lacked compatibility studies. Most of the pharmacist interventions performed were accepted by the healthcare team (130/159; 81.8%).Conclusions The high frequency of incompatibilities observed is related to the large number of intravenous medications and the complexity of therapeutic regimens used in intensive care. Bedside pharmacist involvement proved feasible and contributed to safer medication administration practices in these units.
SN - 2667-2766
ER -