Effect of pharmacist intervention on glycemic control in diabetes

Abstract

Aim: To conduct a meta-analysis evaluating the effect of pharmacist intervention on glycemic control.

Methods: A systematic search of Medline and CENTRAL was conducted from the earliest possible date through June 2010. Trials were included if they were randomized controlled trials in a diabetic population, evaluated any form of pharmacist intervention and reported data on hemoglobin A1C (A1C). A random-effects model was used to calculate weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% confidence intervals.

Results: Fourteen trials (n = 2073) evaluating the effect of pharmacist intervention on glycemic control were identified. Pharmacist intervention significantly lowered A1C (n = 14 trials, WMD -0.76%, 95%CI -1.06 to -0.47) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) (n = 4 trials, WMD -29.32 mg/dL, 95%CI -39.54 to -19.10). A moderate to high degree of statistical heterogeneity was observed in these analyses (I(2) ≥ 44.1% for both).

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate statistically and clinically significant associations between pharmacist intervention and improvement in glycemic control.