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Inappropriate Prescribing to Elderly Patients in an Internal Medicine Ward.

dc.contributor.authorUrzal, J
dc.contributor.authorPedro, AB
dc.contributor.authorOliveira, I
dc.contributor.authorRomero, I
dc.contributor.authorAchega, M
dc.contributor.authorCorreia, I
dc.contributor.authorAldomiro, F
dc.contributor.authorAugusto, J
dc.date.accessioned2019-04-02T08:50:50Z
dc.date.available2019-04-02T08:50:50Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractINTRODUCTION: Polypharmacy is often observed in elderly patients and is associated with an increased risk of adverse drug reactions, side effects and interactions. Clinicians should be alert to inappropriate drug prescribing and reduce polypharmacy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Observational, longitudinal, retrospective and descriptive study in an internal medicine ward in a Portuguese hospital. Polypharmacy was defined as the use of five or more different medicines. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing at admission and discharge in an internal medicine ward, according to deprescribing.org guidelines/algorithms. A total of 838 consecutive patients were admitted between January and July 2017. All patients were aged under 65 years old, and those who died before discharge were excluded. Patients' medications were reviewed from a medical database at hospital admission and discharge. We examined whether patients were taking anticoagulants, proton pump inhibitors, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics and/or antihyperglycemic medication. RESULTS: A total of 483 patients were included, mean age was 79.2 ± 8.0 years, and 42% of patients were male. Median number of medications at admission and discharge was six. Polypharmacy was present in more than 70% of admitted patients. Proton pump inhibitors were the most common inappropriate prescription at discharge (17.2%). DISCUSSION: This study demonstrated a low use of inappropriate medicine (11.2% - 17.2%) in older people discharged from hospital, when compared to other studies. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that polypharmacy is present in more than 70% of elderly admitted patients. Nevertheless, the drug inappropriateness rate was not significantly affected by polypharmacy at both admission and discharge, being overall lower than published data.pt_PT
dc.description.abstractIntrodução: A polimedicação é observada nos doentes idosos e está associada a um maior risco de reações adversas, efeitos secundários e interações. Os clínicos devem atentos à prescrição inapropriada e à redução da polimedicação. Material e Métodos: Estudo observacional, longitudinal, retrospetivo e descritivo, realizado numa enfermaria de medicina interna num hospital português. Definimos a polimedicação como o uso de cinco ou mais medicamentos. O objetivo foi descrever a prevalência da polimedicação e a prescrição inapropriada, na admissão e alta, de acordo com as guidelines/algoritmos definidos em deprescribing. org. Admitimos 838 doentes entre janeiro e julho de 2017. Excluímos todos aqueles com idade inferior a 65 anos e óbitos. A medicação dos doentes foi revista a partir da base de dados hospitalar, à admissão e à data de alta. Examinámos se os doentes estavam a tomar anticoagulantes, inibidores da bomba de protões, benzodiazepinas, antipsicóticos e/ou anti hiperglicémicos. Resultados: Incluímos 483 doentes, com média de idade de 79,2 ± 8,0 anos, e 42% dos quais eram homens. A mediana da medicação à admissão e à alta foi seis. A polimedicação estava presente em mais de 70% dos doentes admitidos. Os inibidores da bomba de protões foram a classe mais inapropriadamente prescrita à data de alta (17,2%). Discussão: Demonstrámos um uso reduzido de fármacos inapropriados (11,2% - 17,2%) nos idosos, à alta hospitalar, quando comparado com outros estudos. Conclusão: Demonstrámos que a polimedicação estava presente em mais de 70% dos idosos admitidos. Contudo, a taxa de prescrição inapropriada não afetou significativamente a polimedicação na admissão e na alta, sendo inferior aos dados publicados.pt_PT
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.citationActa Med Port. 2019 Feb 28;32(2):141-148pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.20344/amp.10683pt_PT
dc.identifier.issn1646–0758
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.10/2190
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherOrdem dos Médicospt_PT
dc.relation.publisherversionhttps://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/10683/5620pt_PT
dc.subjectAgedpt_PT
dc.subjectInappropriate prescribingpt_PT
dc.subjectPolypharmacypt_PT
dc.subjectPortugalpt_PT
dc.titleInappropriate Prescribing to Elderly Patients in an Internal Medicine Ward.pt_PT
dc.title.alternativePrescrição Inapropriada em Idosos numa Enfermaria de Medicina Internapt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.conferencePlaceLisboapt_PT
oaire.citation.endPage148pt_PT
oaire.citation.startPage141pt_PT
oaire.citation.titleActa Médica Portuguesapt_PT
oaire.citation.volume32pt_PT
rcaap.rightsopenAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT

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