title: Polypharmacy and elderly patients.
abstract: Medication therapy in elderly patients is difficult to manage and always has the potential of being hazardous. With the age-related changes that affect the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a medication, prescribing medications is further complicated. Similarly, assessment of a medication's efficacy is difficult. The situation becomes more complicated when the patient is taking multiple medications. Nurses in the perioperative area need to be cognizant of a patient's preoperative medication regime and the medications that have been prescribed in the perioperative setting. As medication interactions increase substantially with the number of medications taken, the most pertinent nursing intervention is accurate assessment of the patient. Early recognition of potentially harmful medication effects is critical.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Wichita (Kan) State University, USA.
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000502:physiology*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006801:Humans; D013527:Perioperative Nursing; D019338:Polypharmacy; D012307:Risk Factors; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative; D014481:United States