Pharmaceutical Challenges for Drug-Related Problems in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Observational Study

Introduction: Neonates are very sensitive and vulnerable individuals. They require multiple medications during their stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which can lead to pharmacological errors and Drug-related Problems (DRPs), like drug-drug interactions and adverse drug effects. Aim: To assess DRPs in the NICU to improve the quality of pharmaceutical care. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted from June 2023 to August 2023 in a tertiary-level, well-equipped NICU at JNU Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. All 61 neonates admitted to the NICU were included, except for those who were admitted for less than 24 hours and had not been prescribed any medications. All DRPs were documented using the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE V9.1). The problems related to DRPs, their causes, planned interventions, acceptance of interventions, and outcomes were assessed. The final analysis was conducted with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 25.0. A p-value