Introduction: Infections caused by bacteria can be treated with antibiotics. One type of antibiotic used to fight bacteria is ciprofloxacin, a group of fluoroquinolones. To prevent this, bacteria have developed resistance by mutating in various ways. Negative bacterial cultures, short- and long-term treatments, all favor the progression of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, as a consequence of mutation. Compared to other antibiotics, the resistance development has increased more extensively for ciprofloxacin. Also, ciprofloxacin is incorrectly prescribed in primary care, which contributes to the increase in resistance development. Because of this, doctors wish to be more restrictive with the prescription of ciprofloxacin. Aim: This study aimed to determine if ciprofloxacin in primary care in Sörmland is prescribed correctly by examining whether the prescriptions are in compliance with the treatment recommendations in Sweden. Methods: The study was conducted as a survey research and executed under two months; from start of February to middle of April. The inclusion criteria were the primary care in Sörmland and the prescribers who prescribed ciprofloxacin with ATC code J01MA02 from January 2020. Firstly, the head of the care unit was contacted. Prescribers were then contacted individually to take part in a phone interview. The collection of data was compiled and compared to the treatment recommendations in Sweden to determine if the prescriptions were correct, regarding indication, dosage, and treatment time. Results: A total of 236 prescriptions were obtained, of which 89 were included in this study. Out of these, 32 prescriptions (36%) were in accordance with the correct choice of preparation regarding indication, dosage and treatment time and were, therefore, considered to be correct. Prescriptions that were not in accordance with the Swedish treatment recommendations, regarding the use of correct preparation for a single indication, dosage or treatment time, amounted to 57 prescriptions (64%). These prescriptions were, thereby, considered incorrect. Conclusion: This study concludes that it appears that less than half of the prescriptions of ciprofloxacin in the primary care in Sörmland were correct during this time period.

Extravasation is a condition that can occur during an intravenous administration. This means that the solution administered intravenously goes extravascular. Depending on physiochemical properties of the substance and solution, this can cause different severity of the damage. Extravasation of acyclovir, potassium phosphate and potassium chloride causes severe tissue damage that can, in worst case, lead to tissue necrosis. The purpose was therefore to investigate how acyclovir, potassium phosphate and potassium chloride causes tissue damage due to pH and osmolality and how the tissue damage can be avoided. To answer the purpose, a comprehensive literature search was conducted on three different databases; Pubmed, CINAHL and Cochrane. The literature search was in progress from February 4 to May 14 2020. The literature search generated a total of 42 articles and case reports, of which 13 of these were relevant for the purpose. These 13 articles consisted of two animal studies, three experimental observational studies, two guidelines from Västra Götalands Region, three case reports about acyclovir and three case reports of potassium phosphate and potassium chloride.   Two of the experimental observational studies showed that potassium chloride could be diluted with 100 mL of 0,9% sodium chloride or 5% dextrose in water to possibly avoid tissue damage due to extravasation. Such results were not found for either acyclovir or potassium phosphate. The conclusion that could be drawn was that acyclovir caused tissue damage because of its alkaline pH, potassium phosphate because of its hyperosmolality and potassium chloride because of its acidic pH and its hyperosmolality. One way to possibly avoid tissue damage caused by extravasation is to dilute the substances with higher dilution volumes. However, due to the lack of reliability of the included studies, it cannot be safely concluded that tissue damage can be avoided.

Dysfagi är ett vanligt förekommande och mindre uppmärksammat tillstånd som påverkar patientens hälsa och livskvalité. Dysfagi innebär en försämrad ät- och sväljförmåga som kan leda till undernäring, ökad sjuklighet och uttorkning, som i sin tur kan leda till ökad dödlighet. Patienter med sväljsvårigheter har oftast svårt med intag av orala läkemedel som tabletter/kapslar, vilket gör att läkemedel kan behöva manipuleras (krossas/delas) för att underlätta nedsväljningen. Därför är syftet med detta projekt att studera sjuksköterskornas och klinikapotekarnas beskrivning av hur sväljbedömningen, läkemedelshanteringen och uppföljningen går till för patienter med dysfagi. Projektet gjordes genom en kvalitativ intervjustudie med hjälp av en innehållsanalys. Totalt intervjuades sex sjuksköterskor och två klinikapotekare som arbetar inom Region Västmanland år 202. Resultatet presenterades under sex huvudkategorier; “Bedömning av sväljsvårigheter i praktiken”, “Tillvägagångssätt vid läkemedelshantering”, “Källor vid manipulering av läkemedel”, “Teamarbetets betydelse i vården”, “Läkemedelsgenomgångar för patienter med dysfagi” och “Förbättringsförslag”. Resultatet visade att sjuksköterskorna inte utför några djupgående bedömningar av sväljförmågan. Det visade även att majoriteten av sjuksköterskorna hanterade läkemedelsmanipulation på likartat sätt och använde gemensamma informationskällor. En regelbunden uppföljning av patienternas sväljförmåga fanns inte. Klinikapotekarna bidrog till en minskad läkemedelsmanipulering genom att utföra läkemedelsgenomgångar. Slutsatsen som kan dras är att det finns ett behov av fler insatser av vården som skulle kunna optimera läkemedelsbehandlingen till patienter med dysfagi. Detta kan ske genom ett ökat samarbete mellan olika professioner i vården och tydligare rutiner, informationskällor och utbildningar.

I samband med att den äldre populationen blir en större andel av jordens befolkning ökar även sväljningsproblematiken i befolkningen. Dysfagi är ett tillstånd som försvårar både födo- och vätskeintaget, följden av detta är att administreringen av fasta orala läkemedel (tabletter/kapslar) försvåras. Genom läkemedelsmanipulering, det vill säga krossning och delning av tabletter/kapslar kan läkemedelsadministreringen underlättas till dessa patienter. Riskerna med att krossa/dela fasta orala läkemedel kan bland annat ge upphov till irritation i magslemhinnan, obehaglig smak och i värsta fall förstärkt eller utebliven effekt. Syftet med detta fördjupningsprojekt är att få kunskap om olika professioners (läkare, logoped, klinisk farmakolog och klinisk apotekare) erfarenheter kring sväljbedömning, förskrivning och uppföljning av peroral läkemedelsbehandling till patienter med sväljsvårigheter. Denna kvalitativa intervjustudie utformades år 2021 och analyserades med en manifest innehållsanalys, där åtta studiedeltagare rekryterades.   Resultatet visar att bedömning av sväljförmågan kan utföras av läkare och annan inblandad personal men att logopeden anses ha den centrala rollen. Vid förskrivning ser läkarna över läkemedelslistan med avseende på sväljsvårigheter och möjlighet till krossa/dela om det framkommer att patienten har sväljproblematik. För att inhämta information kring krossning/delning och alternativa beredningsformer utgår läkarna från ungefär samma källor och som stöd finns kliniska farmakologer och apotekare. Samtliga nämner att det kan finnas risker med krossa/dela som exempelvis ökad risk för biverkan.  Det framkom även att uppföljningen av läkemedelsbehandlingen till patienter med dysfagi är bristande. Slutsatsen som kan dras är att det finns förbättringspotential kring sväljbedömning, förskrivning och uppföljning av peroral läkemedelsbehandling till patienter med sväljsvårigheter, detta genom exempelvis tillämpning av rutiner, utbildningsinsatser och ett tydligare teamsamarbete.

Introduction: The kidneys' ability to filter drug substances deteriorates with age. Some diseases accelerate this degradation. Patients with renal impairment are at increased risk of drug-related adverse reactions if dose adjustments are not made. Aim: To investigate the purchase and dosage of newly introduced opioids, gabapentinoids and NSAIDs between 2014 and 2019 for patients with impaired kidney function in the Stockholm Region. Method: A register-based cross-sectional study where data has been obtained from the database SCREAM (The Stockholm CREAtinine Measurements project). All patients ≥ 18 years of age, who live in Stockholm and have performed at least one creatinine measurement from January 2013 and received a prescription for selected drugs were included. The number of people and the dosage (DDD/prescription) were studied annually, by age, sex, and CKD. Results: The total number of patients was 362,964 with a mean age of 56 (SD 19) years. The study included 202,762 women (56%) and 160,201 men (44%). The mean value of eGFR was 88 (SD 24). Gabapentinoids were prescribed significantly less than NSAIDs and opioids, however, prescribing increased between 2014-2018. It was the only class of drugs with a clear reduction in dosage with respect to CKD level. NSAIDs were prescribed on few occasions to patients with impaired renal function, at the same time a reduction in the total number of prescriptions was seen between 2014-2018. No major difference in dosage was seen based on the patient's CKD level. Opioids were prescribed on most occasions with an increase in the number of prescriptions between 2014-2018. Only minor differences in dosage were noted between the different CKD levels. However, for all CKD levels, there had been a gradually reduced dosage from 2014 to 2018. Conclusion: Patients with renal impairment belong to a fragile group with a number of different comorbidities. Painkillers are prescribed on fewer occasions to patients with renal impairment. Prescribers, however, do not appear to adjust the dose with respect to renal function when re-introducing NSAIDs and opioids

Bakgrund: Den kliniska farmacin i Sverige har utvecklats markant det senaste årtiondet, var de kliniska farmaceuternas antal mer än fördubblats. Samtidigt som den kliniska farmacin utvecklas mer och mer så finns det i nuläget begränsade utbildningsmöjligheter. Mål: Denna rapport har som syfte att undersöka den kliniska farmaceutens roll inom vården, dennes arbetssätt och synen på yrkesrollen. Metod: En enkätundersökning utfördes riktad till alla verksamma kliniska farmaceuter i Sverige som arbetar patientnära. Resultat: Svarsfrekvens för undersökningen uppgick till 58%. Undersökningen kartlade den kliniska farmaceutens arbetssätt och gav en översiktlig bild av vad farmaceuten ansåg om sin yrkesroll samt visade hur farmaceuterna ansågs kunna föra den kliniska farmacin framåt i landet. Diskussion: Ett grundligt förarbete med pilottester och kvalitativa studier utfördes inte i samband med utformandet av enkäten, vilket resulterat i brister i studiens validitet. Slutsats: Det fanns skillnader gällande de olika regionernas arbetssätt med anledning av att yrkesrollen var svårdefinierad, samt att arbetssätten för farmaceuterna var olikartade. Majoriteten av deltagarna hade en positiv inställning till sina upplevelser inom det multidisciplinära teamet, däremot var de även av åsikten att klinisk farmaci inom Sverige bör vidareutvecklas. / Background: Clinical pharmacy have developed tremendously over the past decade, and the number of clinical pharmacists has more than doubled. Although clinical pharmacy is developing more and more, educational opportunities are currently a limited. Aim: This report aims to investigate the role of the clinical pharmacist in healthcare, its working procedures and the view of the profession. Method: A survey was conducted including all active clinical pharmacists in Sweden working in direct contact with the patients. Result: The response rate for the survey was 58%. The study surveyed the clinical pharmacist’s working procedures, gave some general knowledge of the pharmacist’s considerations for the profession and viewed the opinions of the pharmacist in the regard of expanding and developing clinical pharmacy in the country. Discussion: A thoroughly done preliminary work with pilot tests and qualitative studies was not carried out in connection with the development of the survey, which has resulted in deficiencies in the validity. Conclusion: There were differences regarding the working methods of the different regions because of the difficulty of defining the content of the profession, and the diversity of the working procedures between the regions. A majority of the participants had a positive attitude to their experiences within the multidisciplinary team, however, they were also of the opinion that clinical pharmacy in Sweden should be furthered developed.

Farmaceutens uppgift vid läkemedelsexpediering innefattar att kontrollera att receptet är förskrivet enligt godkända premisser. Om problem uppstår behöver farmaceuten ta ställning i om förskrivarkontakt är aktuellt för klargörande och åtgärder. Förskrivare har inte tillgång till patienters fullständiga journaler vilket kan öka risken för att olika typer av problem uppstår vid läkemedelsförskrivning. Sedan monopolet avskaffades har apoteken ökat i antal men antalet farmaceuter per apotek har snarare minskat. Underbemanning och stress kan påverka farmaceutens arbete och därmed medföra en ökad risk för felexpedieringar. Farmaceutens möjlighet till förskrivarkontakt ligger således till grund för en säker läkemedelsanvändning och ökad patientsäkerhet. Syftet med studien var att kartlägga problem som leder till förskrivarkontakt vid läkemedelsexpediering samt kartlägga problem som uppstår i samband med förskrivarkontakt. Studiens metod var att alla farmaceuter (1352) som arbetade på ett öppenvårdsapotek på Apoteket AB fick möjlighet att genomföra en onlinebaserad enkät. En länk till enkäten mejlades ut till alla apotek i Sverige tillsammans med ett följebrev med information om studien. Farmaceuterna hade möjlighet att besvara enkäten mellan 14–29 september 2023.  Resultatet visade att 200 farmaceuter deltog i enkäten. 38,5 % ansåg att fel förskrivet läkemedel genererade förskrivarkontakt varje gång det förekom följt av fel eller oklar dosering (25 %) och  läkemedel som genererar en D interaktion (24,5 %). Respondenterna upplevde att restnoterade läkemedel förekom dagligen (77,5 %) därefter läkemedel som indikerar en C interaktion (61,5 %) och missad läkemedelsförskrivning (41,5 %). Avregistrerade läkemedel (13,5 %), läkemedel som genererar en D interaktion (13 %) och restnoterade läkemedel (12,5 %) var de problem som flest respondenter ansåg tog >30 minuter att lösa med förskrivare. Dessutom var förskrivare inte anträffbara i cirka 50 % av fallen vilket 97 % ansåg. Respondenterna valde att i 58,5 % av fallen återkoppla till patienten när problemet var åtgärdat när förskrivaren inte var anträffbar. 74 % av respondenterna upplevde att tidsbrist utgjorde ett hinder för förskrivarkontakt där 16 % ansåg att det förekom dagligen. Orsaken till tidsbristen ansågs vara underbemanning och högt kundtryck enligt 55 % av respondenterna.  Slutsatsen är att fel förskrivet läkemedel, fel eller oklar dosering och läkemedel som genererar en D interaktion är de tre problemen som oftast leder till förskrivarkontakt. Tidsbrist och svårigheter i att få tag på förskrivaren är problem som uppstår i samband med förskrivarkontakt och påverkas av underbemanning och högt kundtryck. / The pharmacist’s mission at pharmaceutical dispensing includes to verify that the prescription is prescribed in the right way. The pharmacist needs to decide if contact with the prescriber is needed for clarification and actions if a problem occurs. Prescribers don´t have access to the patients complete medical records which can increase the risk of fault at drug prescribing. Since the monopoly was abolished the number of pharmacies has increased while the number of pharmacists has decreased.  Understaffing and stress will affect the pharmacist which can lead to a higher risk of fault at pharmaceutical dispensing. The pharmacist’s possibility to contact the prescriber is needed to ensure a safe drug usage and increased patient safety. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the problems that leads to contact with the prescriber at pharmaceutical dispensing and also to assess the problems that appears when to contact the prescriber. Method: All pharmacists (1352), that were employed at a pharmacy owned by Apoteket AB, had the opportunity to complete an online survey. A link was provided to all pharmacies in Sweden together with a message containing information about the study. The pharmacists had the opportunity to answer the survey between 14-29 September 2023. The results showed that 200 pharmacists participated in the survey. In this study, 38,5 % considered that faulty prescribed drugs led to contact with the prescriber every time it occurred followed by wrong or unclear dosage (25 %) and drugs that generate a D interaction (24,5 %). The respondents experienced that the backorder drugs occurred daily (77,5 %) then drugs that indicated a C interaction (61,5 %) and missed prescriptions (41,5 %). Non licensed drugs (13,5 %), drugs that give a D interaction (13 %) and backorder drugs (12,5 %) were problems that most pharmacists considered took more than 30 minutes with the prescriber to resolve the problems. The prescriber was not even reachable in about 50 % of the cases which was answered by 97 % of the respondents. The respondents chosed, in 58,5 % of the cases, to reach out to the patient when the problem was resolved with the prescriber. 74 % of the respondents though that lack of time constituted an obstacle prohibiting contact with the prescriber, 16 % thought that this occurred daily. The cause of the lack of time was understaffing and increased number of customers, according to 55 % av the respondents. Conclusion: Prescribing wrong drugs, wrong or unclear dosage and drugs that generate a D interaction were the three most common problems that leads to contact with the prescriber. Lack of time and difficulties to get in contact with the prescriber are problems that appears in connection with the prescriber and was affected by understaffing and increased number of customers.

Background: A closed-loop medication system is planned to be implemented at Uppsala University Hospital. Thus, an advanced pharmaceutical validation system called System-Assisted Pharmaceutical VALidation (SAPVAL) is being developed, which aims to identify and manage risk prescriptions, hence reducing potential adverse drug events (ADEs). The system is based on clinical rules that generate an alert due to a "risk score”. As part of SAPVAL, this study focuses on alerts related to an increased risk of bleeding. Aim: This study aims to investigate, gain an enhanced understanding, and determine the clinical significance of alerts generated by one of the clinical rules (rule 2- risk of bleeding) that was developed within SAPVAL. Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study where alerts 100 from randomly selected patients, with a previously identified risk of bleeding, were investigated in regard to the risk period for potential/true ADEs, undertaken mitigation measures and clinical significance. This was done by accessing the patients’ electronic health records. Results: The risk period for potential ADEs was 29 days. In total, 35 ADEs were identified, with anemia as the most common symptom. Mitigation measures were undertaken for 55 patients, of which the most common were prescription of a proton pump inhibitor and blood transfusions. The clinical evaluation showed that 66% of the 103 included alerts were deemed clinically insignificant. Conclusion: Most alerts were deemed clinically insignificant. This in turn, emphasizes the importance of a system like SAPVAL, where insignificant alerts are filtered away by pharmacists before reaching the physicians, thus reducing problems related to alert fatigue.

The word communication originates from the Latin word communicare that means to do something in common. When human beings communicate with each other, we share thoughts, emotions, values and actions. The foundation in communication is found within the interpersonal communication, which is the act of communication between two persons. All types of communications include of verbal and nonverbal acts of communication. The verbal communication consists of words either in speech or writing, the nonverbal act implies gestures, frequency of the tone and facial expressions. Within the pharmaceutical profession, good communication between the pharmacist and the customer is important and can affect the customer’s health and quality of life in both direct as well as indirect ways. In recent years, the pharmacist's role in the pharmacy has drastically changed. Nowadays the care of the customer has gained more significance than before. To improve customer health and quality of life it is important that the pharmacist acts to promote a good relationship with the customer and the foundation for this relationship should be built on good terms of communication. The purpose of this study was to study how common it is with communication errors between pharmacist and customer, and to demonstrate probable underlying causes. Secondary questions were, how is the drug advice the pharmacist provides affected by communication errors? Collection of data for the study was done with structured observation charts, where the customer and pharmacist were strictly observed. A total of 316 meetings were observed and the data collected referred to prescriptions. In more than one-third of the observed meetings, there were communication errors between the pharmacist and the customer. Communication errors that arose concerned lack of eye contact, language barriers, choice of questions, background noise from colleagues and customers and discussions from generic exchanges. To reduce future communication errors, the pharmacist's actions should be strengthened, such as eye contact, clear follow-up questions and improved feedback.

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disorder estimated to affect 0,4 % of the world's population (1 in 250). Patients with FH have abnormally high LDL-cholesterol.  Aim: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of FH in Stockholm County and to evaluate the health economic impact of diagnosing people with FH early in life. Methods: Two algorithms were used to estimate the number of people with high LDLcholesterol. The first method applied data on cholesterol measurements from patients in Stockholm County between 2006-2008 and a modified version of Dutch Lipid Clinic Network. The second method was based on dispensed prescriptions of ezetimibe, lomitapide, evolucumab and alirocumab during 2019. A health economic model was created to estimate the economical outcome of diagnosing and treating patients early before undergoing a cardiovascular event. Results: The prevalence of FH in Stockholm County was estimated to 0.63 %, corresponding to a total of 12 000 individuals. The accumulated costs over 20 years for FH is estimated to be more than 1,1 billion SEK for diagnosed and treated patients, and 1,7 billion SEK for undiagnosed and untreated patients. Conclusions: The prevalence of FH in Stockholm County is probably higher than previously suggested. Early diagnosis and treatment is an investment for society and necessary for the patients to prevent cardiovascular events and improve quality of life.