Impact on Patient Outcomes of Pharmacist Participation in Multidisciplinary Critical Care Teams: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effects of including critical care pharmacists in multidisciplinary ICU teams on clinical outcomes including mortality, ICU length of stay, and adverse drug events. Data Sources: PubMed, EMBASE, and references from previous relevant systematic studies. Study Selection: We included randomized controlled trials and nonrandomized studies that reported clinical outcomes such as mortality, ICU length of stay, and adverse drug events in groups with and without critical care pharmacist interventions. Data Extraction: We extracted study details, patient characteristics, and clinical outcomes. Data Synthesis: From the 4,725 articles identified as potentially eligible, 14 were included in the analysis. Intervention of critical care pharmacists as part of the multidisciplinary ICU team care was significantly associated with the reduced likelihood of mortality (odds ratio, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.73-0.83; p < 0.00001) compared with no intervention. The mean difference in ICU length of stay was -1.33 days (95% CI, -1.75 to -0.90 d; p < 0.00001) for mixed ICUs. The reduction of adverse drug event prevalence was also significantly associated with multidisciplinary team care involving pharmacist intervention (odds ratio for preventable and nonpreventable adverse drug events, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.15-0.44; p < 0.00001 and odds ratio, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.28-0.77; p = 0.003, respectively). Conclusions: Including critical care pharmacists in the multidisciplinary ICU team improved patient outcomes including mortality, ICU length of stay in mixed ICUs, and preventable/nonpreventable adverse drug events.