Abstract
The provision of care to patients with renal disease provides pharmacists with many opportunities for research. Questions of drug use and toxicity arise frequently. Pharmacists should have little difficulty in identifying important unanswered questions regarding the clinical use of drugs in patients with renal disease. There are various ways in which pharmacists can contribute to the research process. In some cases, these contributions are informal such as suggestions regarding study design, blinding procedures, and study drug control. In other cases, the pharmacist may contribute more formally by serving as principal investigator or co-investigator. This latter role often leads to authorship of scientific literature. Eight medical and pharmacy journals were reviewed to assess the contributions of pharmacists to the clinical nephrology literature. This review covered articles published from 1980 (or the date of first publication of the journal, if more recent than 1980) through 1991. In these eight journals, pharmacists have been contributing as authors throughout this 12-year period. In the majority of cases, pharmacists have been the primary author. Most pharmacist-authored papers addressed drug-related issues, while articles on pharmacokinetics and therapeutics were most common. The primary source of funding for this research was the pharmaceutical industry. As more pharmacists begin to work with kidney disease patients, the contribution of pharmacists to the clinical nephrology literature will continue to grow. Pharmacists must be prepared to identify research opportunities whenever they may occur.
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