Estudio de interacciones medicamentosas en pacientes diabéticos atendidos en un consultorio médico privado de la ciudad de Ambato.

Abstract

Given its complex pathophysiology, diabetes mellitus is often accompanied by other concomitant diseases, which increases the complexity of managing this condition as some medications can inhibit or enhance the action of oral antidiabetics. The present study was conducted with the objective of identifying drug interactions in patients with diabetes mellitus treated in a private clinic in Ambato city. Relevant personal data were collected from the medical records of 51 participants who were treated at the private medical clinic from January to June 2023. The collected data included: the number of medications administered, dosage, frequency, route of administration, and pharmacological interactions. It was observed that adults aged 70 to 80 years are the population group at highest risk of experiencing an adverse reaction due to drug interaction. They have various concomitant pathologies, the most prevalent being hypertension (29%), cardiovascular diseases (10%), and depression (10%). Polypharmacy was observed in 53% of the studied patients as evidenced by the prescription of four or more medications. Regarding pharmacological interactions, it was determined that 60% of the identified interactions were mild, 23% moderate, 14% severe, and 3% undetermined. The medications responsible for these interactions were antidepressants (34%), calcium antagonists (17%), beta-blockers (14%), and diuretics (11%). After identifying the interactions, it was concluded that the private medical center in Ambato city does not adhere to the clinical practice guidelines issued by the Ministry of Public Health. Besides, it was observed that age is a statistically significant risk factor for experiencing an adverse reaction due to drug interactions.