Pharmacovigilance of polypharmacy and adverse drug reactions in hospitalized elderly in a university hospital in Manaus, Amazonas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22239/2317-269X.01363Keywords:
Elderly, Polypharmacy, Pharmacovigilance, Side Effects, Adverse Drug ReactionsAbstract
Introduction: Polypharmacy – the concomitant use of multiple (usually five or more) prescription drugs - poses exacerbated risks of adverse drug reactions (ADR) for the elderly. Objective: The aim of this study was to observe the prevalence of polypharmacy and the incidence of ADR in hospitalized elderly. Method: An observational, analytical and prospective study was performed to collect data from the medical prescriptions of selected elderly and from ADR reports. Patients were evaluated for the prevalence of polypharmacy and the incidence of ADR. Results: A total of 42 elderly patients were hospitalized from January to June 2018 (66.7% were female and 33.3% were male). The mean age and hospitalization time were, respectively, 73 ± 8 years and 22 ± 14 days. Polypharmacy was detected in 85.0% prescriptions, with an average of 9 medications per patient. The most frequent adverse events were hypotension (18.3%), bleeding (12.2%) and hypoglycemia (10.2%). Conclusions: The results reveal a high prevalence of polypharmacy in hospitalized elderly, also related to the significant incidence of ADR in this population. The role of the clinical pharmacist and the institution of drug conciliation are necessary measures to identify prescribing patterns focused on the elderly population and to propose specific strategies for the problem of polypharmacy in the elderly.
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