{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T17:15:53Z","timestamp":1790270153496,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,7]],"date-time":"2022-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1659830400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The United States Agency for International Development","award":["G-2-00263"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["G-2-00263"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmacy"],"abstract":"<jats:p>There are few reports on drug utilization and drug-drug interactions in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Egypt. A total of 94 patients participated in this retrospective observational study. Patient\u2019s medical records were used to collect demographics, medical history, admission and discharge dates and medications used. The mean \u00b1 SD of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores was 9.9 \u00b1 4.4 and the median length of stay was 7 days (range 1\u201347 days). The total number of prescribed medications ranged from 4\u201329 with a mean \u00b1 SD of 14.1 \u00b1 5.5 medications per patient. The top three most prescribed categories belonged to (1) anti-infective agents (23.9%); (2) electrolyte, caloric and water balance agents (14.6%); and (3) blood formation, coagulation and thrombosis (11.3%). The proton pump inhibitor, esomeprazole, was the most frequently prescribed medication accounting for 6.5% of total prescriptions, followed by clindamycin and magnesium sulfate each accounting for 3.5% of total prescriptions. The potential Drug-Drug Interactions (pDDIs) showed a total of 968 pDDIs with a mean \u00b1 SD (range) of 10.2 \u00b1 9.4 (0\u201343) pDDIs per patient: severe (contraindicated) (3), major (178), moderate (618) and minor (169). Overall, the drug utilization patterns in this study were consistent with ICU drug utilization from other countries in the region. The implementation of clinical decision support systems and the involvement of clinical pharmacists may help improve medication safety.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmacy10040096","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,9]],"date-time":"2022-08-09T04:16:55Z","timestamp":1660018615000},"page":"96","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Drug Utilization and Potential Drug-Drug Interactions within an Intensive Care Unit at a University Tertiary Care Hospital in Egypt"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Dima F.","family":"Obeid","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Pharmacy Unit, Internal Medicine Hospital, Ain-Shams University Hospital, Cairo 11591, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4438-8997","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adel H.","family":"Karara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD 21853, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1694","DOI":"10.1097\/01.CCM.0000171609.91035.BD","article-title":"The critical care safety study: The incidence and nature of adverse events and serious medical errors in intensive care","volume":"33","author":"Rothschild","year":"2005","journal-title":"Crit. 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