Use of potentially inappropriate medications by the elderly at home.
The goal of this study was to assess how often potentially inappropriate medicines are used by the elderly at home, and analyze its clinical significance. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study, a segment of a study on the use of medication conducted at a public hospital. Inappropriate medication was classified according to the three criteria in the 2012 Beers List. 190 elderly were included in this study; the prevalence of the use of inappropriate medicines was 44.2%. The therapeutic classes of most often used inappropriate medicines were non-steroid anti-inflammatories, cardiovascular agents, benzodiazepines and antidepressants. We found a positive association between the use of inappropriate medicines and polypharmacy, polypathology and hypertension. The 2013 Rename identified 35 inappropriate drugs (34.3%). The study showed a high prevalence of using inappropriate medicines by the elderly. The clinical consequences of using inappropriate medicines are important for public health due to the risk of adverse events and a negative impact on elderly functionality. When it comes to caring for the elderly, it is important to develop measures to foster the rational use of medication.
Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Av. Prof. Alfredo Balena 110, Santa Efigênia. 30130-100 Belo Horizonte MG Brasil. lazaramontezano@ yahoo.com.br.
Lázara Montezano
LM
Lopes
Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Av. Prof. Alfredo Balena 110, Santa Efigênia. 30130-100 Belo Horizonte MG Brasil. lazaramontezano@ yahoo.com.br.
Tácita Pires de
TP
Figueiredo
Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Av. Prof. Alfredo Balena 110, Santa Efigênia. 30130-100 Belo Horizonte MG Brasil. lazaramontezano@ yahoo.com.br.
Soraya Coelho
SC
Costa
Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos. Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte MG Brasil.
Adriano Max Moreira
AM
Reis
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057970:Inappropriate Prescribing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017891:Pharmacoepidemiology; D019338:Polypharmacy; D000067561:Potentially Inappropriate Medication List; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies