title: Potential drug-drug interactions among prescriptionsfor elderly patients in primary health care.
abstract: Elderly patients are at high risk from drug-drug interactions (DDIs). This study evaluates the potential DDIs in Turkish elderly patients at a primary health care outpatient clinic.
  
  
  
  Online database systems were used to examine DDIs on the prescriptions of patients (n = 1206). The clinical severity of DDIs was classified by the Lexi-Interact Online database.
  
  
  
  Of the 5059 prescriptions, 33% were found to have DDIs. We detected 29 (0.9%) A, 380 (11.8%) B, 2494 (77.7%) C, 289 (9%) D, and 18 (0.6%) X risk rating category DDIs among the prescriptions. Prescriptions of female patients and patients aged between 65 and 72 years showed significantly higher number of DDIs. The frequency of DDIs increased both with the number of drugs and combined preparations per prescription. Acetylsalicylic acid and salbutamol were the most frequently prescribed drugs contributing to clinically important DDIs. Additionally, acetylsalicylic acid and escitalopram, which interact with each other, were found on the list of Beers criteria. The most predicted clinical outcomes of DDIs were increase in therapeutic efficacy and adverse/toxic reactions. Conclusions: Prediction of DDIs in elderly patients will provide better prescribing and drug safety. Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and beta-2 adrenergic receptor agonists should be closely monitored.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zafer
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gören
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mahluga
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: J Demirkapu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gökçe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Akpinar Acet
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Yakın Doğu University, Nicosia, Mersin 10, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sanda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Çali
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Medine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gülçebi Idriz Oğlu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004347:Drug Interactions; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019338:Polypharmacy; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology