Drug related problems in inpatients of Santiago de Cuba

Introduction: Drug-related problems are a major health concern because of their high impact on inpatient morbidity. Method: Descriptive and cross-sectional observational, study in the clinical services of five health institutions of Santiago de Cuba, during the first quarter of 2020. The profiles of 329 patients who received pharmacotherapeutic follow-up were reviewed. The sample was characterized according to biosocials, clinical and pharmacotherapeutic variables, the identification of medication-related problems was performed using the criteria of Cipolle, Stramd and Morley, also determining the drugs involved in medication-related problems. The data were processed through absolute and relative frequencies represented by means of tables and figures. Results: Patients over or equal to 60 years of age predominated, representing 38.6 %; 61.4 % of the patients were female. Most of the patients had up to two diseases (76.3 %); complicated respiratory infections (35.6 %) were the most frequent reason for admission. Between four and six medications were consumed by 36.5 %, with antibacterials for systemic use being the most prescribed. A total of 598 drug-related problems were identified for a ratio of 1.8 DRP/patient, of which 42.8 % corresponded to safety problems, 31.1 % to indication, followed by 24.9 % to effectiveness and finally 1.2 % to adherence. Conclusions: Antimicrobials were the most implicated in the occurrence of medication-related problems. Pharmaceutical care offers services that ensure the appropriate use of medications.