Abstract
Patients with various diseases are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), regardless of the department responsible for treating them. Since the conditions of ICU patients can change rapidly, intravenous medications are often stopped and discarded for various reasons. Therefore, we have conducted a prospective observational study to learn more about the reasons intravenous medications were discarded and how much they cost. During the two-week observation period, 382 intravenous medications were discarded, and the total cost was 262,525 yen. Cardiac surgery patients had the highest number of discarded intravenous medications, and these medications were the most expensive. Among all medications, carperitide, followed by dexmedetomidine, was the most costly medication discarded. “Change in the treatment course” was the most common reason for discarding medications. This study revealed the reasons for discarding intravenous medications and the related cost during daily clinical practice in our ICU. It seems the active participation of pharmacists in daily practice would help decrease unnecessary medical expenditure in the ICU.
