Beneficial effects of a pharmaceutical care program on outpatients with inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

 This study aimed to evaluate the effects of aPharmaceutical Care (PC) program among outpatientswith Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in an outpatientdepartment of a tertiary care teaching hospital in RibeiraoPreto, Brazil. Patients with IBD were randomizedinto two groups, one to receive PC procedures (PCG;N=18) and a control group (CG; N=17). Both groupswere followed for one year and compared at six (T6),and 12 (T12), months of study. Patients were assessedfor treatment compliance, knowledge about treatment,clinical colitis activity index, and quality of life (SF-36). In PCG patients, the number of adherent patientssignificantly increased from 28% to 72% (p<0.05), andin the percent score for patient knowledge increasedfrom 80% to 100% (p≤0.0001) from T0 to T12. Therewas a significant decrease in clinical activity indexesfrom T6 to T12 in PCG patients (median; range: 2.20;0.99–3.77 versus 1.90; 0.99–3.77; p=0.02), but not inthe CG group (1.69; 0.99–3.77 versus 1.69; 0.99–3.48).Quality of life questionnaire rvealed increased scoresfor mental health domain at T12 in both PCG (57.5versus 65.3; p=0.04) and CG (56.9 versus 67.0; p=0.01)groups. The PC program was associated with increasedcompliance, better mental health-related quality of life,and enhanced knowledge about treatment.