Potential Drug-Drug Interaction in the Intensive Care Unit: An Observational Study at a Hospital in Bandung

The hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is at the forefront of treating emergency patients requiring intensive care. The comprehensive, fast, and accurate medication in the unit causes the incidence of drug-drug interactions (DDI’s) and can lead to therapeutic failures in patients. Therefore, this study aimed to describe potential (DDIs) in the ICU of a hospital in Bandung. A descriptive observational study was performed in a hospital in Bandung from 1st to 31st March 2021. The drug use report observed the use of medics in the ICU. Furthermore, the potential DDI’s were identified using a drug interaction checker. It was validated using the textbook and another reputable checker. There are twenty-one types of drugs commonly used in the study setting, and the analysis showed twenty-two potential DDI’s. The interaction consists of three significant DDI’s, including dexamethasone-levofloxacin, phenytoin-nicardipine, and phenytoin-nimodipine, while the others are moderate. The majority of them generally affect the blood pressure and nervous system. Health care providers should observe the high incidence of DDI’s when selecting and monitoring drugs in the ICU. Further study is needed to explore the potential of other drugs that can minimize the interaction effect. Therefore, it is expected to improve ICU patients’ safety in adverse drug reaction situations.