PHARMACEUTICAL INTERVENTION IN THE DETECTION AND RESOLUTION OF PROBLEMS RELATED TO MEDICATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED PEDIATRIC PATIENTS: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Drug-related problems are one of the main causes of complications in pediatric patients in a hospital setting. However, clinical pharmacists can contribute to the reduction of these problems through the practice of pharmaceutical interventions. Therefore, this study aimed to review the relevant literature on the importance of pharmaceutical interventions in detecting and resolving drug-related problems in hospitalized pediatric patients. To achieve this, a narrative literature review was conducted, using clinical pharmacy textbooks, official documents, as well as scientific papers selected from Google Scholar and the Scientific Electronic Library Online. The results showed that pediatric therapy presents a high level of complexity, which increases the occurrence of drug-related problems in this population, including medication errors and adverse drug reactions. However, pharmaceutical interventions emerge as an effective tool in reducing these problems, minimizing unfavorable therapeutic outcomes. Therefore, it can be concluded that pharmaceutical interventions represent an important component of pharmaceutical follow-up to detect and resolve medication-related issues in hospitalized pediatric patients, contributing to the improvement of the quality of life for this population and the reduction of hospital costs and pediatric hospitalization duration.