Abstract
Adverse drug reactions are more incident among the elderly and are frequently associated to inappropriate prescription for this group. The objective of the current study was to investigate the incidence and the characteristics of emergency department visits, related to inappropriate prescription, at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. Patients aged 60 years or older, admitted to the emergency department at Unidade Avançada Ibirapuera of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, were included in the study. Potentially inappropriate medication for the elderly was evaluated using updated 2003 Beers criteria. Over a period of 6 months, 214 individuals were included in the study, being 53.7% male. The mean age was 70.8 years (60-107). A total of 48 registries of inappropriate prescription were recorded in 42 patients (19.6% of sample). An emergency visit related to adverse drug event was verified in 27 individuals (12.5% of the sample). From these patients, 34.5% were admitted to the emergency department because of an adverse event caused by an inappropriate medication. Inappropriate prescription is frequent among elderly patients admitted to emergency department. A surveillance system and a program to educate physicians on the most recent criteria of appropriate prescription may help reducing emergency visits and adverse drug events in the elderly population.
Highlights
The outpatient use of drug therapies is common among older adults
A National Surveillance performed in an outpatient setting by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, reported that adverse drug events accounted for 2.5% of estimated emergency department visits for all unintentional injuries, and 6.7% of these individuals required hospitalization
During the period of investigation, 231 emergency visits were registered in 214 patients aged 60 years or older
Summary
The outpatient use of drug therapies is common among older adults. More than 80% of elderly take, at least, one over-the-counter medication or dietary supplement, and176 Farfel JM, Accorsi TAD, Franken M, Doudement SP, Moran M, Iervolino M, Bastos Neto AS30% report using five or more of these drugs regularly[1]. The outpatient use of drug therapies is common among older adults. As the world population ages, more patients are treated for acute and chronic diseases, exposing themselves to a higher morbidity and mortality related to adverse drug events[2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. A National Surveillance performed in an outpatient setting by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, reported that adverse drug events accounted for 2.5% of estimated emergency department visits for all unintentional injuries, and 6.7% of these individuals required hospitalization. Adverse drug reactions were more incident among older adults who were more likely to require hospitalization[10]. The prescription to elderly individuals is often given by non-geriatricians who are frequently unfamiliar with the most commonly adopted criteria for medication appropriateness in these patients
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
