BACKGROUND The use of psychotropic drugs by elderly people is widely spread around the world, given that prevalence of inappropriate medication is frequent. Strictly speaking, in Brazil, the vulnerable population of elderly people is more likely to use Potentially Inappropriate Psychotropic (PIP) due to the impact of social-economic characteristics, to the Brazilian Public Health System, and to...

We evaluated the appropriateness of use of restricted antimicrobial agents in the context of a newly implemented order form and delivery system for restricted antimicrobial agents, using sequential prospective audits of prescriptions. Four antimicrobial agents were selected: glycopeptides (61 prescriptions), ciprofloxacin (42), piperacillin-tazobactam (42) and imipenem- cilastatin (47). The jus...

Lopinavir/ritonavir forms part of the antiretroviral therapy for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). The aim of this non-experimental, quantitative drug-utilization study was to determine and identify potential drug-drug interactions between lopinavir/ritonavir and other antiretrovirals in general practitioners and specialists prescripti...

BACKGROUND Inappropriate medication use is a major healthcare issue for the elderly population. This study explored the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs) in long-term care in metropolitan Quebec. METHODS A cross sectional chart review of 2,633 long-term care older patients of the Quebec City area was performed. An explicit criteria list for PIPs was developed based ...

Inappropriate prescribing of antimicrobials is a major clinical and health concern, as well as a financial burden, in hospitals worldwide. In this paper, we describe a deployed automated antimicrobial prescription surveillance system that has been assisting hospital pharmacists in identifying and reporting inappropriate antimicrobial prescriptions. One of the key characteristics of this system ...

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have been found to be an effective method for minimizing antibiotic misuse. Method: A study comparing the quality of antibiotic prescriptions between a one-year period before ASP implementation and a one-year period after its implementation. For each period, antimicrobial prescriptions were evaluated by an antimicrobial stewardship team and ...