OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of drug interactions in intensive care units and to analyze the clinical significance of interactions identified. METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective and cross sectional study conducted with 1124 patients in the seven intensive care units of teaching hospitals in Brazil. Information on drugs administered at 24 hours and 120 hours of hospitalization was obtained from the prescriptions. RESULTS: Within 24 hours, 70.6% of patients had at least one drug interaction; the number at 24h was 2299, at 120 h it was 2619. Midazolam, fentanyl, phenytoin and omeprazole were the drugs with higher frequency of drug interactions. CONCLUSION: In this sample, moderate and severe drug interactions were more prevalent. In light of these findings, all actions of health professionals who provide care to these patients must be integrated in order to identify and prevent possible drug events.
Nursing; Nursing practice; Nursing care; Drug interactions; Intensive care units
