Does DDI-Predictor Help Pharmacists to Detect Drug-Drug Interactions and Resolve Medication Issues More Effectively?

Abstract

The characterization of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) may require the use of several different tools, such as the thesaurus issued by our national health agency (i.e., ANSM), the metabolic pathways table from the Geneva University Hospital (GUH), and DDI-Predictor (DDI-P). We sought to (i) compare the three tools’ respective abilities to detect DDIs in routine clinical practice and (ii) measure the pharmacist intervention rate (PIR) and physician acceptance rate (PAR) associated with the use of DDI-P. The three tools’ respective DDI detection rates (in %) were measured. The PIRs and PARs were compared by using the area under the curve ratio given by DDI-P (RAUC) and applying a chi-squared test. The DDI detection rates differed significantly: 40.0%, 76.5%, and 85.2% for ANSM (The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products), GUH and DDI-P, respectively (p < 0.0001). The PIR differed significantly according to the DDI-P’s RAUC: 90.0%, 44.2% and 75.0% for RAUC ≤ 0.5; RAUC 0.5–2 and RAUC > 2, respectively (p < 0.001). The overall PAR was 85.1% and did not appear to depend on the RAUC category (p = 0.729). Our results showed that more pharmacist interventions were issued when details of the strength of the DDI were available. The three tools can be used in a complementary manner, with a view to refining medication adjustments.