Author(s): 

Gregorio Romero Candel
Paula Ruiz Belda
Carmen Caballero Requejo
Maria Jesus Sanchez Cuenca
Jose Marco del Rio
Juilan Castillo Sanchez
Luna Carratala Herrera

What was done?: 

Preparation of the drug and food interaction guide for outpatient consultations.

Why was it done?: 

Some drugs dispensed in the outpatient office present interactions with food, leading to changes in their bioavailability. These changes which can result in a decrease in therapeutic activity or an increase in adverse effects, when dealing with narrow therapeutic margin drugs, may lead to alterations in their efficacy and/or toxicity. Developing the quick and accessible consultation table, we improved the quality and effectiveness of the treatment.

How was it done?: 

The technical specifications of all drugs that are dispensed in the hospital outpatient office were consulted, and the possible interactions with food of every one of them were analysed by consulting the following electronic databases: Technical sheet, Bot Plus, Micromedex, Pubmed, UpToDate and Online Medicine Information Centre of the AEMPS. A database was developed with drugs that presented some type of restriction with meals, designing a quick reference table for outpatient consultation.

What has been achieved?: 

One-hundred specialities were reviewed, of which 22 were to be taken without food, 43 with food and 35 could be taken with or without food. The information given to the patient was quick and efficient, improving the effectiveness and safety of the treatment.

What next?: 

Our goal is to continue developing tools that allow us to provide quality information to the patient, improving the effectiveness and safety of treatments.

Keywords: 

  • Clinical pharmacy›Medicines optimisation
  • Drug information›Patient information
  • Drug safety›Drug interaction
Conflict of interest: 

I have no potential conflict of interest to disclose