Risk Factors for Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in Outpatients with Dyslipidemia

Patients with dyslipidemia are usually multimorbid and require polypharmacy. Therefore, it is important to identify potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) in time to prevent their consequences. We aimed to identify and analyze risk factors contributing to their occurrence to guide health professionals.

A prospective cross-sectional study of 216 outpatients with dyslipidemia was conducted from May 2021 to April 2022 in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. pDDIs were identified using Medscape, Epocrates, and Drugs online interaction checkers. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to evaluate the potential predictors of interactions.

pDDIs were detected in 212 (98.1%) participants, whereas pDDIs with high clinical significance were detected in 25.46%, 40.74%, and 58.8% of subjects by Drugs, Epocrates, and Medscape, respectively. Polypharmacy emerged as a risk factor for the occurrence of pDDIs in all three checkers in each category of clinical significance. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antiplatelet drugs contributes to the incidence of severe pDDIs B=1.014, 95%CI 0.681-1.346, P=0.000 and B=0.492, 95%CI 0.286-0.698, P=0.000, by Epocrates and Medscape respectively. The number of prescribers per patient was a protective factor against moderate pDDI B= -0.858, 95%CI -1.572-(-0.144), P=0.019 and B= -0.956, 95%CI -1.671-(- 0.241), P=0.009, by Medscape and Epocrates, respectively, but a risk factor for the occurrence of minor pDDIs B=0.373, 95%CI 0.033-0.712 P=0.032 and B=0.143, 95%CI 0.042-0.244, P=0.006, by the same checkers.

Knowledge of the risk factors contributing to the occurrence of pDDIs is important for the development and implementation of strategies for their prevention, and given the high prevalence of dyslipidemia, understanding these factors seems crucial nowadays.