Authors (including presenting author) :
LI WY(1)(2)
Affiliation :
(1) Pharmacy, Prince of Wales Hospital, (2) School of Pharmacy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Introduction :
The major objectives of the pharmacist education service in this study are to provide in-depth drug counselling and disease education with strong emphasis on the importance of lifelong thyroxine therapy, and to optimize patients’ current thyroxine therapy efficacy and safety by reviewing potential drug-related problems (DRPs) and suggesting interventions to physicians and patients when appropriate.
Objectives :
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of pharmacist education on thyroxine replacement therapy for post-thyroidectomy patients in a local Hong Kong hospital.
Methodology :
This was a prospective, interventional study conducted from November 2023 to April 2024 at the medical specialist out-patient thyroid clinic of Prince of Wales Hospital. Patients who underwent total/partial thyroidectomy for non-malignant thyroid disease and were on thyroxine replacement therapy were enrolled. Patients received a 30-minute individual pharmacist education session covering thyroxine adherence, knowledge, and potential drug-related problems (DRPs). The primary outcome was change in self-developed thyroxine replacement therapy knowledge survey score from baseline to week six. Secondary outcomes included number and types of thyroxine therapy-related DRPs identified by pharmacist, and rate of acceptance of pharmacist recommendations.
Result & Outcome :
A total of 24 patients were enrolled. The mean thyroxine replacement therapy knowledge survey score improved significantly from baseline (11.3 ± 2.4) to week 6 (14.6 ± 1.8, p<0.001) after the pharmacist education session. Amongst the 24 enrolled patients, a total of 22 DRPs were identified, with the most common DRP cause being patient-related (72.7%). The acceptance rate of pharmacist recommendations was 100%.
