Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2004 , Vol 7, Issue 3
NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS IN THE TREATMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS IN ELDERLY: ADVERSE EFFECTS AND DRUG INTERACTIONS
Aydan ORAL
İstanbul Üniversitesi, İstanbul Tıp Fakültesi Fiziksel Tıp Ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı Çapa, 34390, İstanbul It is well known that elderly patients are frequently exposed to concomitant drug use due to the increase in systemic diseases with aging. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are frequently prescribed to the elderly in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, along with their antiinflammatory and analgesic effects, are known to have adverse effects, more important of which are potential cardiovascular and renal side effects. These adverse effects worsen in the presence of cardiovascular and renal diseases, with adverse drug interactions putting the elderly in a much greater risk. In this review, in order to increase the awareness of the clinicians on what we are prescribing is actually doing, the adverse outcomes and interaction between nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other agents used for the treatment of diseases coommonly seen in the elderly will be discussed. Keywords : Elderly; Non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs NSAIDs; Adverse effects; Drug interactions, Polypharmacy