Impact of pharmacist intervention on oral theophylline therapy in adult inpatients

The impact of clinical pharmacy services on the utilization of oral theophylline therapy was evaluated in a ten-week study involving 138 adult inpatients. The study initially involved an independent prospective five-week audit of theophylline use, in which clinical pharmacists monitored theophylline therapy and any interventions were designed so as not to influence future actions taken by medical officers with regard to oral theophylline therapy. The second part of the study involved active intervention by clinical pharmacists and a concurrent five-week audit of theophylline use. The study has demonstrated that clinical pharmacist intervention significantly increased the number of patients receiving a theophylline assay when indicated, from 43 to 83 percent; the number of assays appropriately sampled, from 58 to 85 percent; the number of appropriate dosage adjustments, from 63 to 86 percent; and the number of patients with a measured serum theophylline concentration in the therapeutic range, from 17 to 47 percent. These results show that clinical pharmacists can have a significant impact on patient care by efficient monitoring and individualizing theophylline therapy.