RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To characterise information requests (IRs) from hospitals received by a drug information center (DIC-RS) according to the resolution of the inquiries. METHOD: The sample consisted of all requestors and their respective IRs registered in the DIC-RS database from January 2012 to December 2016. Request without information in the consulted literature (RWI) were categorised according to the institution of origin. IRs from hospitals were classified by the information source, topic and subtopic of the questions, and the number of drugs and the pharmacological or therapeutic group. RESULTS: A total of 2,500 IRs were analysed. Of those, 25% did not exhibit conclusive information in the consulted sources. RWI from hospitals represented 51% of all RWI, followed by those from community pharmacies (13%) and health centres (9%). Tertiary literature was the most commonly used source (73%) for IRs from hospitals. The greatest difficulties in finding information were related to off-label drug administration and indication issues (52% of RWI). The most common type of off-label use was related to changes in the original pharmaceutical form of the drug. Furthermore, 61% of RWI were directed at a specific drug, mostly systemic anti-infectives. CONCLUSION: We found that a quarter of the answers did not exhibit conclusive information in the consulted sources. Answers to IRs from the hospital environment exhibited the greatest extent of limited information, and off-label use was responsible for most cases.
RESUMO
Objetivo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi descrever as atividades passivas realizadas por um Centro de Informações sobre Medicamentos (CIM) de hospital universitário no sul do Brasil. Resultados: de 2002 a 2008, o total de solicitações recebidas foi de 8035, das quais 30,3% foram realizadas por enfermeiros, 24,3% por farmacêuticos e 15% por técnicos de enfermagem. O tempo gasto para a resposta foi em 56,8% das vezes de até 10 minutos. Os temas mais solicitados foram administração de medicamentos (25,6%), identificação do produto (16,4%), posologia (10,6%) e estabilidade (9,6%). Conclusão: O CIM é uma estratégia na busca pelo uso seguro e racional de medicamentos nos hospitais.
Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the passive activities of Drug Information Center (DIC) of a university hospital in southern Brazil. Results: From 2002 to 2008, the total of requests was 8035, of which 30.3% were answered by nurses, 24.3% pharmacists and 15% technical nursing. The time spent to response was less than 10 minutes in 56.8%. The principal requests were about drug administration (25.6%), identification of the product (16.4%), dosage (10.6%) and stability (9.6%). Conclusion: The DIC is a strategy in the search for safe and rational use of drugs in hospitals.