Potentially inappropriate medication use in hospitalized elderly patients according to Beers criteria

• Autor(a) principal: Vilela,Fernanda Coelho
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Carvalho,Maurício de, Andrzejevski,Vânia Mari Salvi, Frandoloso,Gibran Avelino
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Geriatrics, Gerontology and Aging (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://ggaging.com/details/83
• topic: Aged; Inappropriate prescribing; Pharmacoepidemiology

<p><b>OBJECTIVE:</b> Evaluation of the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use in elderly patients admitted to the wards of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Neurology and Cardiology at Hospital de Cl&iacute;nicas (HC-UFPR).<br> <b>METHODS:</b> An observational, cross-sectional, analytical, retrospective study to identify inappropriate medication use among hospitalized elderly patients, between January and December 2012. The sample was composed by all the evaluated elderly patients that were hospitalized at the wards. The Beers Method version 2012 was used to identify MPI.<br> <b>RESULTS:</b> A total of 605 admissions of 512 patients were evaluated. The mean age of patients was 71±7.4 years old in Medicine Clinical. For Infectious Diseases 67±5.4 years old, Neurology 70±6.5 years old, and 71±7.9 years old for Cardiology. Out of the 8.715 medications used by this population, 1.933 (~22%) were inappropriate for seniors. Considering the ATC, the groups with more prescriptions were A - digestive tract and metabolism (48.5%), B - blood and hematopoietic organs (17.4%), N - nervous system (17%), and C - cardiovascular apparatus (12.5%). MPI between the active ingredients were most prescribed metoclopramide (28.45%), glibenclamide (17.17%), diazepam (6.67%) and mineral oil (6.31%).<br> <b>CONCLUSION:</b> This study showed that prescribing PIM among hospitalized elderly is common practice and its prevalence is similar to that found in other studies, even when used prior to 2012. The criteria group of drugs that act on the digestive system and metabolism was the most used. This study will serve as an instrument of therapeutic education for the safe and rational use of medication and awareness of prescribers, and may assist in choosing safer alternatives for the elderly and as a possible tool for multidisciplinary interventions in the management of MPI patient.</p>