Potential drug-drug interactions analysis in Polish pediatric hemato-oncologic unit, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients.

Background: The lack of information on drug-drug interactions in the pediatric population significantly complicates making effective therapeutic decisions. Our study aimed to analyze the rate and risk factors as well as present potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) specifically for pediatric patients from the pediatric hemato-oncologic unit, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients.

Methods: We conducted a six-month prospective study in which clinical pharmacists examined medical records once a week to look for pDDIs using the Lexicomp^® Drug Interactions Checker. Spearman's rank coefficient, logistic regression, and the U-Mann-Whitney test were used to identify correlations, analyze risk factors for pDDIs, and compare ALL patients with non-ALL patients, respectively. Recommendations were provided for the D and X pDDIs categories.

Results: We identified 507 pDDIs in 119 screened patients, 388 of which were clinically relevant. Nearly 68% of the patients were exposed to at least one significant interaction. The number of pDDIs was positively correlated with the number of medications (r_s=0.75, p < 0.001), off-label used drugs (r_s=0.42, p < 0.001), comorbidities (r_s=0.21, p = 0.019), and hospitalization length (r_s=0.48, p < 0.001). The multivariate analysis revealed that at least 7 administered medications (OR = 8.63; 95% CI = 2.92-25.47) and 13 days in the hospital (OR = 3.47; 95% CI = 1.31-9.19) were risk factors for pDDIs. Furthermore, patients treated for ALL represent an at-risk group with a statistically higher number of drugs taken and pDDIs identified.

Conclusions: Limited data on drug-drug interactions in the pediatric population emphasizes the need for close collaboration between clinical pharmacists and clinicians to improve the safety and effectiveness of pharmacotherapy.