title: [Safety of antirheumatic drug treatment in the elderly].
abstract: Mainly due to the general demographic changes and decreasing mortality in rheumatic diseases based on therapeutic progress, the proportion of older patients treated by rheumatologists is growing. Drug treatment in the elderly, however, harbors certain risks including age-specific pharmacokinetic features and high rates of multimorbidity and polypharmacy resulting in a risk of drug interactions and adherence problems. Nevertheless, older patients suffering from rheumatic diseases ought to be treated with the same intensity and same targets as the younger counterparts. Bearing all these facts in mind it is a balancing act for rheumatologists to find an optimal treatment for the individual elderly patient. Fear of risks should not lead to hesitant use of drugs leaving these patients alone with treatment deficits, as some studies have suggested.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatologisches Praxiszentrum, St. Bonifatius Str. 5, 81541, München, Deutschland. klaus.krueger@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krüger
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum (DRFZ), Berlin, Deutschland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Strangfeld
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Innere Medizin II, Rheumatologie/Immunologie, Rheumazentrum, Klinikum Südstadt Rostock, Rostock, Deutschland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kneitz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents
keywords: Antirheumatic drugs; Drug interactions; Drug safety; Drug treatment; Elderly patients