Evaluation of medication use and polypharmacy in postoperative cardiac patients: The clinical pharmacist's imperative in a public institute of Pakistan

As a major concern in the healthcare sector, polypharmacy is correlated with an increased risk of potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs), treatment costs and adverse drug reactions (ADR). To assess the prevalence of polypharmacy and its associated factors among postoperative cardiac patients admitted to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), a hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2021 and April 2022. Medication charts of postoperative patients were reviewed for medication utilization and polypharmacy. Data was collected using a form approved by the Ethical Review Committee (ERC) regarding patient's clinical and demographic characteristics and medications administered. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software version 25.0. Patients were taking an average of 10.3±1.7 medications. The minimum number of drugs taken per patient was 5, while the maximum was 15 drugs. Only 114 (29.7%) received polypharmacy (5-9 drugs) and hyper-polypharmacy (≥10 drugs) was 270 (70.3%). The mean±SD cardiovascular drugs used were 5.45±1.18 and the mean±SD non-cardiovascular drugs were 4.83±1.18. The prevalence of hyper-polypharmacy suggests a critical need for optimized medication management strategies in this population. Incorporating clinical pharmacists within public healthcare institutions can address polypharmacy-related challenges and enhance medication safety, adherence and patient outcomes.