Incidence, Patterns, and Severity of Potential Drug Interactions Among Cancer Patients on Chemotherapy in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Objective To study the incidence of potential drug−drug interactions (DDIs) and evaluate their pattern and severity in cancer inpatients. Materials and Methods A detailed clinical data and prescriptions of 150 inpatients with different malignancies were subjected to DDI screening using Micromedex software. The frequency of potential DDIs and their types, patterns, and severity were investigated. Results A total of 360 potential DDIs were present in 111 (74%) of 150 inpatients, dominated by female (67.33%) and breast cancer (30%) patients. The incidence of severe interactions was 63.88%, moderate interactions 35.83%, and mild interactions 0.27%. The potential mechanisms of DDIs were 38.33% pharmacodynamic, 48.33% pharmacokinetic, and 13.33% unspecified. The drug interactions were found to be positively correlated (p < 0.01) with the 6–10 number of prescribed medicines. Conclusion According to this study, the number of medicines prescribed to cancer inpatients increased the chance of DDIs. As a result, the drug surveillance program could save a sizable number of patients from the potentially hazardous clinical effects of DDIs.