DRUG-DRUG INTERACTIONS IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT PRESCRIPTIONS: PREVALENCE AND SEVERITY

Abstract

Patients in intensive care units receive many drugs at once, often through several infusion lines and under rapidly changing organ function, so interacting combinations are almost unavoidable. This narrative review draws on published surveys, cohort studies, consensus work and guidelines to describe how often potential drug-drug interactions are found in critical care prescriptions and how severe they are judged to be. It reports no new patient data. The literature shows that most patients are exposed to at least one potential interaction, yet only a minority are clinically important. Severity ratings differ between compendia, outcome data are sparse, and context-aware screening tools are still needed.