Impact of pharmaceutical care in the rational use of antimicrobials in a basic health unit in São Paulo State

Abstract

The indiscriminate use of antimicrobials in primary health care leads to increased bacterial resistance, morbidity, mortality and health expenditures resulting from infectious processes. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a Pharmaceutical Care Program in the rartional use of antimicrobials at a Basic Health Unit in Center-west São Paulo State, Brazil. To that end, a comparative analysis of the pattern of prescription of antimicrobials for a year before and after the implementation of the program was conducted. The data obtained showed that the Pharmaceutical Care Program promoted a reduction in the number of prescriptions containing antimicrobials, the average number of antimicrobials per prescription and the number of prescriptions of these drugs to the same patient in the timeframes of ≤ 7 days and 8 to 30 days. The study also observed a reduction in the prescription of antimicrobials of second choice and with high toxicity, as well as the occurrence of unwanted clinical effects resulting from clinically relevant drug interactions. Therefore, we concluded that the implementation of the Pharmaceutical Care Program in the Basic Health Unit “Cidinha Leite” promoted a significant improvement in the rational use of antimicrobials.