Poster Presenter

Drug Interaction in Diabetes
Eman Ibraheem Al Ayoubi, Nohad Mady Hamoudi
UAE

The Food and Drug Administration approves about 25 new drug entities each year, and new interactions are also reported for drugs already in use. Only recently have serious drug interactions been responsible for the withdrawal of drugs from the marketplace.

Knowing about every drug interaction is impractical, and not all drug interactions have adverse clinical consequences. Computer screening programs are available in pharmacies, but they do not always contain the most recent information. Drug interactions can be complex, especially if multiple interactions exist in an individual patient. The literature on drug interactions is always changing as new information and new drugs become available.
When patients are prescribed drugs known to interact, they should be monitored appropriately and counseled about signs and symptoms that should trigger a call to the health care provider.
All of the oral hypoglycemic drugs have the potential to interact with other medications and if the result is hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia the consequences can be serious. The interactions may be
• Pharmacodynamic (another drug independently raises or lowers blood glucose)
• Pharmacokinetic (another drug alters the absorption, metabolism or excretion of the hypoglycemic drug).

Both mechanisms may have the effect of changing the apparent efficacy of the hypoglycemic drugs. Pharmacokinetic interactions may also exacerbate other adverse effects of oral hypoglycemic drugs. Pharmacokinetic interactions vary with the drug group.

Adverse drug reactions and drug interactions present alarming problems for our society and must be addressed by all healthcare providers. Because pharmacists are most extensively educated in the areas of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and therapeutics, as well as being the most accessible to patients, they need to assume a more protective role in preventing potentially lethal situations from occurring.