Clinical pharmacy in pediatric cardiology: a way to optimize drug management

Clinical pharmacy has been shown to reduce medication-related errors through activities such as prescription analysis. It also plays an important role in optimizing parental guidance and patient education about medications through targeted counseling sessions. In pediatric cardiology, where high-risk therapies such as anticoagulants and beta-blockers are frequently used, these interventions are particularly critical. This study aimed, for the first time, to assess the feasibility of implementing clinical pharmacy services in a pediatric cardiology department.In 2022 and 2023, clinical pharmacy activities were conducted in a university hospital and included prescription analysis to identify and resolve medication-related problems, as well as medication counseling for patients and their caregivers. Prescribers’ perspectives on these activities were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire.Over 374 working days, 3,793 prescription analyses were performed for 1,430 patients. A total of 392 medication-related problems (12% of prescriptions) were identified, most commonly involving anti-infective agents. Of these, 40.9% were related to dosage, and 61% led to changes in prescriptions. Additionally, 76 oral anticoagulant and 25 post-transplant counseling sessions were conducted. Prescribers expressed high levels of satisfaction and deemed the clinical pharmacy services relevant and valuable.Prescription analysis helped secure medication use, with several identified issues considered clinically significant. Medication counseling emerged as a promising strategy to reduce medication errors at home. These activities should be sustained to enhance medication safety and, for greater efficiency, may benefit from targeting high-risk medications and/or patient populations.