Cultura

The Role of Clinical Pharmacy in First Aid and Emergency Medicine: A Literature Review on Improving Patient Outcomes and Medication Safety

VOLUME 22, 2025

The Role of Targeted Infra-popliteal Endovascular Angioplasty to Treat Diabetic Foot Ulcers Using the Angiosome Model: A Systematic Review

VOLUME 6, 2023

Waleed Muteb Askar Alharbi, Mohammed Nasser Ibrahim Aloyaynaa, Ahmed Hassan Yahya Alsalamy, Abdullah Mudhhi Awadh Alanazi, Noura Ali Abdullah Albukairi, Saad Saud Sulaiman Alharbi

Abstract

The delivery of care in emergency medicine and first aid environments is fraught with complex challenges, including time-sensitive decision-making, high patient acuity, and a lack of prior medical history. In these high-stakes settings, medication errors and adverse drug events pose significant threats to patient safety. The objective of this literature review is to critically analyze and synthesize existing literature on the integration of clinical pharmacy services within emergency departments, prehospital care, and disaster response scenarios, evaluating their contributions to medication safety and patient outcomes. The literature search was executed utilizing databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using various combinations of keywords related to clinical pharmacy, first aid, and emergency medicine. Key findings indicate that the inclusion of clinical pharmacists reduces medication errors by up to 73%, decreases time-to-treatment for time-critical conditions such as sepsis and myocardial infarction, and facilitates cost savings. However, their roles in prehospital care and disaster management remain underdeveloped and underutilized. In conclusion, the integration of clinical pharmacists in emergency and first aid situations yields measurable improvements in medication safety and patient care, highlighting the need for broader implementation and standardized training protocols.

Keywords : Clinical Pharmacy; Emergency Medicine; Medication Safety; Prehospital Care; Disaster Response..
Erin Saricilar
Lecture in accounting. University of Basrah, College of Administration and Economics, Department of Accounting.

Abstract

Atherosclerotic disease significantly impacts patients with type 2 diabetes, who often present with recalcitrant peripheral ulcers. The angiosome model of the foot presents an opportunity to perform direct angiosome-targeted endovascular interventions to maximise both wound healing and limb salvage. A systematic review was performed, with 17 studies included in the final review. Below-the-knee endovascular interventions present significant technical challenges, with technical success depending on the length of lesion being treated and the number of angiosomes that require treatment. Wound healing was significantly improved with direct angiosome-targeted angioplasty, as was limb salvage, with a significant increase in survival without major amputation. Indirect angioplasty, where the intervention is applied to collateral vessels to the angiosomes, yielded similar results to direct angiosome-targeted angioplasty. Applying the angiosome model of the foot in direct angiosome-targeted angioplasty improves outcomes for patients with recalcitrant diabetic foot ulcers in terms of primary wound healing, mean time for complete wound healing and major amputation-free survival.
Keywords : Diabetic foot ulcer, angiosome, angioplasty