Cuidados farmacêuticos em pacientes críticos acometidos por COVID-19 em uma unidade de referência em Manaus

Abstract

Combating the COVID-19 pandemic requires the involvement of multiple actors to contain the infection, including from the dedication of health professionals and the engagement of the population to collective prevention measures. Among the health agents directly involved in this task, the pharmacist can be highlighted. However, the report of pharmaceutical care provided to patients affected by COVID-19 admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is still scarce. In this way, the survey of pharmaceutical care actions in a reference unit in the fight against the pandemic is essential for a better understanding of the impact of the activities carried out, as well as the planning of new strategies by health establishments. The objective of this study was to describe the pharmaceutical care provided to critically ill patients affected by COVID-19 in a Manaus reference unit. To this end, a retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out from the records of pharmaceutical care. 129 patients were included. Regarding the profile of the patients, 58.14% were elderly and 53.49% were male. 63.64% of the patients studied had some previous pathology, with emphasis on the concomitant presence of arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus (31.08%). Most individuals were on ventilatory support (96.12%) and sedated (91.47%). In total, there were 81 different drugs with 1473 drugs prescribed. On average, each patient had 11.46 ± 2.25 drugs prescribed and the vast majority were under a polypharmacy regimen (99.22%). In total, there were 226 pharmaceutical interventions and 101 patients had at least one pharmaceutical intervention. The suggestion of drug prophylaxis was the most reported pharmaceutical intervention (43.31%). The results obtained in the study showed that the pharmaceutical care provided may have contributed to the safety of the management of these patients. It is expected that evidenced hypotheses can stimulate the development of this important area of activity in the state of Amazonas.