title: Diagnosis and control of polypharmacy in the elderly.
abstract: The article had the purpose of commenting on studies on polypharmacy in the elderly, focusing on diagnosis and control. Polypharmacy is defined as the use of a number of medications at the same time and the use of additional drugs to correct drug adverse effects. The fact that the elderly take more medications for the treatment of several diseases makes them more susceptible to the occurrence of adverse reactions. Prophylactic actions such as balanced prescriptions are vital to reduce the incidence of these reactions and prevent longer hospital stay, increased costs and aggravation of the elderly health condition.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Hospital Universitário de Brasília, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brasil. pmedeirossouza@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Patrícia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Medeiros-Souza
authors.forename: Leopoldo Luiz dos
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Santos-Neto
authors.forename: Liana Tieko Evangelista
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Kusano
authors.forename: Maurício Gomes
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004347:Drug Interactions; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000592:standards*; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000592:standards; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019338:Polypharmacy; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'