Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2018 , Vol 21, Issue 1
A POPULATION-BASED STUDY: THE APPROPRIATENESS OF DRUG USE IN THE ELDERLY ACCORDING TO BEERS CRITERIA
Birol ÇIBIK1, Erkan Melih ŞAHİN2, Mehmet Göktuğ KILINÇARSLAN2
1Tokat State Hospital, Family Medicine Clinic Tokat, Turkey
2Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine Çanakkale, Turkey
DOI : 10.31086tjgeri.2018137962 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