Polypharmacy and Potentially Inappropriate Medication in the Adult, Community-Dwelling Population in Switzerland

“…Given that medication-related problems are common, costly, and often preventable in older adults and lead to poor outcomes (American Geriatrics Society 2012 Beers Criteria Update Expert Panel 2012), one would argue that incorporating appropriate prescription practicesparticularly in the vulnerable-elderly in any medical education program is very important, and the lack of such understanding worrisome. Prescribing potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) as identified by the Beer's criteria in the elderly continues to be a world-wide problem, with recent studies estimating its prevalence in different parts of the world to range from 16 to 42.7 % (Undela et al 2014) with the possibility of under estimation due to underreporting (Blozik et al 2013;Fadare et al 2013;Nishtala et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basic Geriatrics Knowledge Among Internal Medicine Trainees in a Teaching Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Alaama

2016

J Cross Cult Gerontol

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To assess the basic knowledge of medical trainees, in the absence of a structured geriatrics curriculum, around a variety of geriatric medicine components that are considered essential for the care of the rapidly increasing elderly population. Eighty-three trainees at different levels of training in internal medicine were asked about a variety of common geriatric conditions. Those included: delirium, falls, geriatric syndromes, pain, cognitive impairment, and medications. The trainees' knowledge about common geriatric condition was overall poor. The most pronounced deficits included: the lack of familiarity in diagnosing geriatric syndromes (63 %) or managing them (67 %), the underestimation of the prevalence of delirium (49 %), and the tendency to undertreat pain (64 %). Poor familiarity with polypharmacy and its impact, as well as inappropriate prescription practices in the elderly were also observed. In the absence of a structured geriatric medicine curriculum, internal medicine trainees' knowledge about important geriatric conditions is poor, even if their internal medicine knowledge is overall adequate. This would translate into suboptimal care for this vulnerable and rapidly expanding segment of the population.

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“…The sample size is calculated 124 people for estimated prevalence for inappropriate drug use rate of 0.10 with the precision value of 0,05 (8). A simple systematic method was used to select the study sample.…”

Section: Sampling Methodsologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies conducted overseas have yielded inconsistent results (16). A study in Switzerland found inappropriate drug use in 10.3% of elderly individuals (8). In another study 66.7% of elderly individuals used inappropriate drugs (9).…”

Section: General Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Population-Based Study: The Appropriateness of Drug Use in the Elderly According to Beers Criteria

Çibik¹,

Şahin²,

Kılınçarslan³

2018

tjgeri

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Introduction:The elderly population has the highest rates of drug use and is more sensitive to drug effects. Inappropriate drug use can cause unwanted effects in such a population. We aimed to evaluate inappropriate drug use in the elderly population according to Beers criteria. Materials and Method:This cross-sectional, descriptive study used a simple systematic method to select individuals aged ˃65 years residing in Kepez district of Canakkale. All medicines used by participants were identified and evaluated according to Beers criteria.Results: The mean age of the participants was 74.1±6.5 (65-91) years. In our study, 95.7% of the participants had at least one chronic illness and 84.5% had at least three chronic illnesses. The mean total number of drugs used was 5.0±3.2 (0-15). According to Beers criteria, inappropriate drug use was detected in 35 (30%) instances. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were the most frequent inappropriately used drugs in the study population [n=13 (11.2%)].Conclusion: In this study, the rates of inappropriate drug use (35; 30%) were lower than those previously reported. Our findings underline the importance of adhering to guidelines for rational drug use in prescribing medications to elderly.Keywords: Potentially inappropriate medication list; Drug interactions; Drug-related side effects and adverse reactions; Chronic disease; Inappropriate prescribing; Turkey Giriş: Yaşlı popülasyon en yüksek ilaç kullanım oranına sahip olup ilaç etkilerine daha duyarlıdırlar. Uygunsuz ilaç kullanımı bu hastalarda istenmeyen etkilerin ortaya çıkmasına neden olabilmektedir. Bu çalışmada Beers kriterlerine göre yaşlılarda uygunsuz ilaç kullanımının değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmaktadır.Gereç Yöntem: Kesitsel, tanımlayıcı desendeki araştırmamızda Çanakkale Kepez beldesinde ikamet eden 65 yaş ve üzeri bireylerden basit sistematik yöntemle örneklem seçildi. Çalışmaya alınan yaşlıların aktif kullandıkları tüm ilaçlar belirlenip Beers kriterleri açısından değerlendirildi.Bulgular: Katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 74.1±6.5 65-91 idi. Çalışmamızda yaşlıların %95.7'sinde en az bir kronik hastalık, %84.5'inde ise en az üç kronik hastalık varlığı saptanmıştır. Yaşlıların kullandıkları toplam ilaç sayısı ortalama 5.0±3.2 0-15 idi. Beers kriterlerine göre toplam 35 (%30) durumda uygunsuz ilaç kullanımı saptandı. Çalışmamızda en sık uygunsuz kullanılan ilaç olarak 13 (%11.2) bireyde non-steroidal antienflamatuar ilaçlar saptandı.Sonuç: Literatürdeki diğer araştırmalara göre daha az oranda olsa da çalışmamızda yaşlı hastalarda (35; %30) uygunsuz ilaç kullanımı olduğu saptanmıştır. Yaşlı hastalara ilaç reçete edilirken akılcı ilaç kullanım kurallarına uymanın önemi ortaya çıkmıştır.Anahtar sözcükler: Potansiyel uygun olmayan ilaç listesi; İlaç etkileşimi; İlaç yan etkisi;

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Polypharmacy and Potentially Inappropriate Medication in the Adult, Community-Dwelling Population in Switzerland

Abstract: Although the present study has a number of limitations, we conclude that the prevalence of polypharmacy and PIM in Switzerland is high. A broad spectrum of interventions on the individual level as well as on the population level is urgently needed.

Cited by 61 publications

References 25 publications

Polypharmacy and specific comorbidities in university primary care settings

Polypharmacy and specific comorbidities in university primary care settings

Basic Geriatrics Knowledge Among Internal Medicine Trainees in a Teaching Hospital in Saudi Arabia

A Population-Based Study: The Appropriateness of Drug Use in the Elderly According to Beers Criteria

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