Clinical Pharmacology & Biopharmaceutics
Open Access

Abstract

Adherence to treatment is the degree of agreement between the behavior of a person in relation to guidelines of the physician or other healthcare professional. The aim of this study is to compare three different methods of adherence to pharmacotherapy of continuous use in pediatric patients admitted to a unit Referenced Emergency. This is a cross-sectional study, in Referenced Emergency Unit of Clinical Hospital/Unicamp. To evaluate adherence to continuous use pharmacotherapy, were used three validated questionnaires: Morisky-Green test (low, medium and high adherence score), Haynnes and Sackett test (percentage of adherence) and SMAQ (Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire: Adhering or non-adhering). 207 patients were attended; these patients represent 41.7% of all patients seen in Referenced Emergency Unit and 50.2% are female, with mean age 4.6�±4.1 years. Of these, 39 (18.8%) used at least one drug in continuous regimen. The drugs most commonly used had been poly-vitamin (5; 12.8%), ferrous sulfate (4; 10.3%) and amoxicillin (4; 10.3%). Regarding degree of adherence measured by Morisky-Green test, 25.6% had high, 43.6% medium and 30.8% low adherence. In Haynnes and Sackett test, the range obtained was 42.9 to 100%. In SMAQ, 43.6% answered as adherent and 56.4% non-adherent. According to this results, there seen a difference between the instruments and demonstrates that there is a significant incidence of failures in drug administration. It emphasizes the importance of clinical pharmacist to guide the correct use of drugs, aimed at safety and efficacy of patient care and lower costs for public health system.

Biography

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