title: Assessment of medication-related problems in geriatric patients of a rural tertiary care hospital.
abstract: Total world population consists 21% of geriatric population, and the 1991 census report shows that there are 57 millions in India. The high rate chronic problems of elderly patients attributes to various drug-related problems (DRP). It was a prospective observational study where eligible patients were enrolled after obtaining their consent. The patient data were collected in a well-designed data collection form, and the data were data were analyzed statistically. The results showed that among 163 geriatric patients, males were more, i.e. 107 (65.6%), than females 56 (34.4%). A total of 149 (90.2%) patients needed medication counselling ((*) P = 0.012) and 13 (8%) prescriptions had drug-drug interaction (P = 0.152). Thirty-one (19%) patients were using medication inappropriately (P < 0.001) and 40 (24.5%) patients had risk factors for DRPs (P < 0.001). Laboratory tests were required in 32 (19.6%) patients (P = 0.001) and medical chart errors were reported in 7 (4.3%) patients (P = 0.005). The majority of the patients, 136 (83.4%), had medication-related problems (MRP, P = 0.032). This study concluded that most of the enrolled geriatric patients were using medication inappropriately and most of them had MRP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Sri Adichunchanagiri College of Pharmacy, BG Nagara, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Kv
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ramanath
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nedumballi
keywords: Geriatrics; medication-/drug-related problems (MRP/DRP); noncompliance; polypharmacy