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Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Chile; Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Farmacias Ahumada S.A., Santiago, Chile
Assistant Professor, Instituto de Farmacia, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
Staff Pharmacist, Farmacias Ahumada S.A.
Staff Pharmacist, Farmacias Ahumada S.A.
Reprints: Dr. Paulós, Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacéuticas, Olivos 1001, Of. 209, Indepencia, Santiago, Chile, fax 56-2-7378920, cpaulos{at}fasa.cl
BACKGROUND: Inappropriate use of medications is a significant problem in health care today. A possible solution to this problem may be achieved through better control of patients' drug therapy.
OBJECTIVE: To design a pharmaceutical care program for dyslipidemic patients within a community pharmacy setting that provides education in the areas of medication compliance and lifestyle modifications, while emphasizing the importance of achieving cholesterol goals to ensure improvement in quality of life.
METHODS: Patients at an outpatient pharmacy volunteered to be surveyed for 16 weeks. Although both the intervention and control groups were surveyed, the randomly selected intervention group was interviewed more frequently and more comprehensively. Cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, weight, risk factors, drug-related problems (DRPs), and quality of life were measured via a survey at the onset of the study and continually measured until the study's conclusion.
RESULTS: In the intervention group, 26 DRPs were detected, of which 24 were resolved; in the control group, 26 DRPs were detected, of which 5 were resolved. When comparing initial and final blood cholesterol levels in the intervention group, the mean decrease was 27.0 ± 41.1 mg/dL (p = 0.0266); in the control group, the average blood cholesterol level decreased by a mean of 1.4 ± 37.2 mg/dL (p = 0.6624). In the intervention group, the triglyceride level decreased an average of 50.5 ± 80.3 mg/dL (p = 0.0169), while the control group experienced a mean triglyceride level increase of 29.6 ± 118.5 mg/dL (p = 0.1435). As a result of the intervention, the quality of life in the intervention group was improved.
CONCLUSIONS: Short-term pharmaceutical care plans developed in a retail pharmacy within the proper setting may contribute to improved blood lipid values, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and patients' quality of life.
Key Words: community pharmacy, drug-related problems, dyslipidemia, pharmaceutical care
Published Online, April 12, 2005. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1E347
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