title: Drug-drug interactions at hospital admission in geriatric patients in a single facility: a retrospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Individuals older than 60 years of age have multiple simultaneous diseases, for which the average number of medications is greater than five, leading up to 3% possibility of having an adverse reaction event.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To detect potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) and report the average hospital stay for severity potential PPIs, in adults 60 years of age and older in an Internal Medicine Service.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective analysis with a review of the clinical records of patients 60 years of age and older. The length of stay, number and type of prescribed daily medications, PDDIs, and number of admission diagnoses for each patient, were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study included 342 patients with an average and standard deviation of 6 ± 3.0 medications per day. The PDDI levels were 27 (7.9%) severe, 94 (27.5%) moderate, and 61 (17.8%) had both types of interactions. Severe interactions, presented a hospital stay of 10 days, and moderate interaction a 13-day stay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The most common interactions and their average length of stay may be utilized for quality evaluation of the medication process of such a major patient population as that of the older adult in the hospital setting.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiological and Health Research Unit, Aging Division, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México D.F., México.
authors.forename: Rosalinda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Arenas
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sánchez-García
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: García-Peña
authors.forename: Jose Juan
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: García-Gonzàlez
authors.forename: Blanca Elsa
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Rivera-García
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Juárez-Cedillo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies