2016;7(3):35-41. 20. route of administration. strong class=”kwd-title” Keywords: Omeprazole, Drug utilization, Pharmaceutical services, Infusions, intravenous, Patient safety INTRODUCTION The inappropriate use of medications can lead to the occurrence of adverse drug event (ADE), raising the morbidity and mortality rates, besides increasing the RO 25-6981 maleate costs of care for healthcare systems.(,1) The hospital environment is more susceptible to ADE due to the quantity and variety of medications used. Studies have shown RO 25-6981 maleate that 38% of adverse events that occur within this environment are drug-related.(,2,3) In a hospital environment, the intravenous route (IV) is a great source of ADE, since it is commonly used for prescriptions to inpatients.(,4) The choice of the parenteral route with no precise or justified indication represents an obstacle to the rational use of medications. This route shows potential risks, such as infection, impossibility of reversal because of the immediate pharmacological effect, propensity towards intoxication and possibility of thromboembolic events.(,5,6) The need for dilution is also a source of error. There are reports of incorrect use of diluents in IV preparations, such as inadvertent use of concentrated electrolyte solutions to reconstitute medications, which is a serious error with the potential to lead to death.(,7) In addition to the risks, the IV route cost is up to five times higher than oral administration, besides indirect costs, such as diluents, equipment for administration, and a longer time of implementation in the work of the nursing team.(,8,9) Added to these factors, it is known that the proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are the class of medications most prescribed all over the world,(,10) and its prolonged use can lead to several undesired effects, such as pneumonia, infections by em Clostridium difficile /em , osteoporosis, and fractures RO 25-6981 maleate in the elderly, besides being responsible for many drug interactions.(,11) Some studies showed that more than 50% of indications for PPI, both by oral route (PO) and by IV route at hospitals are inappropriate.(,12,13) There is no evidence as to the superiority of PPI administered PO in comparison with the IV route. Additionally, their PO administration is even more cost-effective, since Cd69 it contributed to a decrease in the hospital inpatient stay.(,14) Considering the administration of medications via PO as a safer practice, sequential therapy (ST), which consists of switching from the IV formulation to the PO as soon as the patient presents with clinical conditions for such,(,8) can be a strategy to be adopted in healthcare organizations. Bearing in mind that the presence of a clinical pharmacist in the multidisciplinary teams is a safety strategy that institutions have adopted for the prevention of ADE,(,15) the promotion of the correct use of the IV route of PPI can contribute towards the decrease in morbidity and mortality related to the use of medications in the hospital environment. OBJECTIVE To describe pharmaceutical interventions in a vertical clinical pharmaceutical service for the promotion of the rational RO 25-6981 maleate use of omeprazole using the intravenous route. METHODS This is a prospective and descriptive study conducted at a clinical pharmacy service of a university hospital in the Midwestern Region of Brazil. The data collection period was between November 2014 and May 2015. The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) of the organization, under opinion no. 810.341 and CAAE: 35951214.0.0000.5078. The present study was exempted of application of the Informed Consent Form (ICF) by CEP. The vertical pharmaceutical service, object of this study, consisted of the systematic evaluation of intravenous omeprazole in clinical and surgical.