title: Potential drug-drug interactions in elderly patients presenting with syncope.
abstract: Adverse drug reactions and interactions are a common cause of iatrogenic disease. Although there are resources available that have been developed for assessing potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs), one must first consider the possibility in order to apply these tools. This cross-sectional analysis of elderly patients evaluates Emergency Physician documentation of potential DDIs and assesses the utility of computer software recognition of interactions that can lead to syncope. In this study, lack of documentation of a patient's past medical history and medications suggests that Emergency Physicians are not evaluating DDIs as a possible source of their patient's symptoms. The computer resources evaluated were found to be easy to use and reliable. Rectifying and preventing potential DDIs can be an indispensible service provided by the Emergency Physician.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, New York Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, New York 11215, USA.
authors.forename: Theodore J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Gaeta
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiorini
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ender
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bove
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Diaz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004360:Drug Therapy, Computer-Assisted; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013575:Syncope / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis