Assessment of potential drug-drug interactions and their associated risk factor in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A cross-sectional study

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis patients poses high risk for the development of potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) due to polypharmacy. Data relating the assessment of PDDIs in rheumatoid arthritis patients is still limited. Therefore, we assessed the prevalence, severity and adverse events of PDDIs, and their risk factors in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional research was carried out for 36 months in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Patient who met study eligibility were enrolled and their drug therapies were reviewed thoroughly. Generic name of drug was entered into Micromedex & REG; software to identify the PDDIs. Adverse events related to PDDIs were identified and subsequently managed. Logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the risk factors associated with PDDIs. Results: Of 598 patients, 518 (86.6%) patients were presented with & GE;1 PDDIs. A total of 1492 PDDIs were identified, and 43.1% were moderate in their severity. Corticosteroids (32.8%) was major class of drugs involved in PDDIs development. Aceclofenac plus prednisolone (7.9%) was most common drug pair involved in the development of PDDIs. About 2.7% adverse events related to PDDIs were found. Age and multiple comorbidities were the most common risk factors associated with PDDIs. Conclusion: The occurrence of PDDIs was high among rheumatoid arthritis patients, majority were moderate in their severity. Age and multiple comorbidities were the most common risk factors associated with development of PDDIs. Therefore, prescriber and pharmacists' need to take urgent action in reviewing medications chart and subjected to identify PDDIs, and their associated risk factors to enhance drug safety.