Abstract
Aging is accompanied by changes in organ degeneration, and susceptibility to multiple diseases, leading to the frequent occurrence of adverse drug reactions resulting from polypharmacy (PP) and potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) in older patients. This study employs a retrospective cohort design and investigates the association of PP with PIM among older patients with high rates of medical utilization. Using records from a national pharmaceutical care database, an experimental group is formed from patients meeting these criteria, who are then offered home pharmaceutical care. Correspondingly, a control group is formed by identifying older patients with regular levels of use of medical services who had been dispensed medications at community pharmacies. Multivariate logistic regression is performed to assess the association between the rate of PIM and variables, including age, gender, and PP. The study finds that experimental PP participants had a higher rate of PIM prescription (odds ratio (OR) = 5.4) than non-PP control participants (all p < 0.001). In clinical practice, additional caution is required to avoid PIMs. Patients engaged in continuously using long-term medication should take precautions in daily life to alleviate related discomforts. Pharmacists should serve as a bridge between patients and physicians to enhance their health and improve their quality of life.
Highlights
Polypharmacy (PP) is defined as the co-prescribing of multiple medications or concurrent use of more than five drugs [1,2,3,4,5]
20,700 patients made up the control group, and 2035 individuals were included in the experimental group
Nightingale et al found that patients with PP or multiple diseases were more likely to have potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) prescriptions, due to the poorer physiological state of these patients, which places them at greater risk of being prescribed
Summary
Polypharmacy (PP) is defined as the co-prescribing of multiple medications or concurrent use of more than five drugs [1,2,3,4,5]. Studies have found a positive correlation between patients experiencing PP and higher age, lower levels of education, and female gender [1]. PP can increase the risk of falls in patients, adverse drug reactions (ADR) caused by drug interaction, medication non-compliance, hospitalization, and damage to physiological capacity [1,6,7,8,9,10]. ADRs may be caused by additional drugs to treat adverse effects from another medication, or lack of strong evidence to discontinue certain drugs [1]. Aging leads to changes in the biochemical composition of tissues and organ degeneration, increased susceptibility to multiple diseases, and increased risk of PP and associated ADRs, all of which will affect
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