Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy received 14978 citations as per google scholar report
Rationale: Pharmacotherapy for patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is complex and increases the potential for drug therapy problems (DTPs). We described the frequency and type of DTPs in a Nigerian cohort of HIV infected patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART), as well as the changes in HIV clinical outcomes after pharmacists’ intervention. Methods: A prospective 1â�?�?year descriptive study was conducted from July 2010 to June 2011, at the adult HIV clinic of Jos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. DTPs and the associated pharmacistâ�?�?initiated interventions were documented. Chiâ�?�?square and Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used as appropriate, to compare the main outcome measures of preâ�?�? and postâ�?�?intervention levels of viral load and CD+ cell count. Results: A total of 64,839 prescriptions were dispensed to 9320 patients. Interventions were documented for 85 unique patients (incidence of 1.31 interventions/1000 prescriptions), of which 62 (73%) and 3 (3.5%) were on firstâ�?�? and secondâ�?�?line ART, respectively, while 20 (23.5%) were yet to commence ART. Reasons for pharmacist intervention included failure to initiate therapy for HIV or hepatitis B infection; therapeutic failure (25.9%); and drug toxicity (24.7%). After intervention, the percentage of patients with HIV ribonucleic acid level <400 copies/mL rose from 29.4% to 67.1% (P < 0.001), while median (interquartile range) CD4+ cell count increased from 200 (123–351) to 361 (221–470) cells/mm3 (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Pharmacist intervention resulted in clinically significant improvements in patients HIV virological and immunological outcomes. This highlights an important role for the pharmacist in the treatment and care of HIVâ�?�?infected patients, in a multidisciplinary team.