Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42534814›Full record

ArticleJournal of pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences : a publication of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Societe canadienne des sciences pharmaceutiques2026

Drug-related problems and their predictors in pediatric community-acquired infections: the role of pharmacist-led interventions in Pakistan.

Sana Ali, Ale Zehra, Fakhsheena Anjum, Syed Shaukat Ali Muttaqi Shah, Falak Abro, Sadia Shakeel, Muhammad Ali

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences : a publication of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Societe canadienne des sciences pharmaceutiques, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Sana AliDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow College of Pharmacy, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Ale ZehraDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow College of Pharmacy, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Fakhsheena AnjumDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow College of Pharmacy, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Syed Shaukat Ali Muttaqi ShahDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Al-Farahidi University, Baghdad, Iraq.
Falak AbroDepartment of Pediatrics, Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Sadia ShakeelDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow College of Pharmacy, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Muhammad AliDepartment of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Salim Habib University, Karachi, Pakistan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: Drug-Related Problems (DRPs) are a leading cause of preventable harm to hospitalized children, yet the data from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are limited. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, severity and determinants of DRPs in children with community-acquired infections (CAIs) using standard classification, and to quantify clinical and economic impact of pharmacist-led interventions. Methods: A prospective interventional study conducted (June 2024-March 2025), in pediatric ward of tertiary care public hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. Children aged 2months-14 years with CAIs were enrolled. A trained pharmacist reviewed medication orders daily, identifying DRPs (classified by PCNE V9.1 and severity by NCC MERP criteria). Interventions were proposed to physicians and acceptance rates recorded. Direct cost savings were calculated and DRP predictors were identified using logistic regression. Results: A total of 3,842 medication orders were reviewed for 400 patients, identifying 2,010 DRPs (5.03 DRPs/patient). Primary causes were dose-selection (C3-58.13%), drug-form (C2-15.01%), and drug-selection (C1-13.08%). Severity assessment classified 9.0% of errors as having potential to cause serious harm. Pharmacist interventions had 98.7% acceptance and 81.1% DRPs were resolved. Number of medications (AOR 1.32), fever (AOR 2.84) and length of stay >7days (AOR 1.76) were identified as predictors of DRPs; past immunization was protective (AOR 0.51). Direct cost saving was PKR 363,184 (USD1,290) over 10 months (23:1 cost ratio). Cost per DRP prevented was PKR 241 (USD 0.86), with 142% return on investment. Conclusion: DRPs affected 52.3 per 100 medication orders in hospitalized children with CAIs, with dose selection DRPs predominant and 9% having serious harm potential. Pharmacist-led interventions demonstrated a 98.7% acceptance rate and 81.1% resolution of DRPs, and were associated with substantial cost savings, providing evidence for integrating clinical pharmacy services in LMICs.

Indexed as

Community-Acquired InfectionsDrug-Related Side Effects and Adverse ReactionsPharmacistsAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantMalePakistanProfessional RoleProspective Studiescommunity-acquired infectionsdrug-related problemseconomic impactmedication safetyPakistan

Identifiers

PMID42534814
PMCPMC13422215

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.