2EskiÅŸehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Family Medicine, EskiÅŸehir, Turkey
3EskiÅŸehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Emergency Department, EskiÅŸehir, Turkey DOI : 10.31086/tjgeri.2019.104 Introduction: No study in the literature has reported the rate of inappropriate drug use among older patients admitted to emergency department in Turkey. This study aimed to evaluate polypharmacy and inappropriate drug use by elderly patients admitted to the emergency department.
Materials and Method: Patients aged ≥65 years were prospectively assessed for appropriateness of drugs they use between March and May 2016 according to both the 2012 Beers Criteria and STOPP Version 2 Criteria. Inappropriate drug use was separately assessed according to these criteria, and both patient and drug counts were calculated to assess inappropriate drug use in the study population. Age, gender, date of admission to the emergency department, blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, oxygen saturation, state of consciousness, additional diseases, number of drugs used, names of drugs used, clinical outcome were recorded.
Results: Among 835 study participants, 406 (48.6%) were females and 429 (51.4%) were males. Mean age was 74.2 ± 6.6 years. The rate of polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy was the highest in patients diagnosed with hypertension (35.0% and 16.0%, respectively) and lowest in patients diagnosed with chronic renal failure (2.0% and 2.0%, respectively). In total, 835 patients were using 5 637 drugs. Inappropriate drug use was present in 431 (51.6%) patients according to the STOPP Version 2 Criteria and in 441 (52.8%) according to the 2012 Beers Criteria.
Conclusion: Emphasis on inappropriate drug use will help physicians in the emergency department and other healthcare professionals reduce side effects and complications of medications and reduce emergency admissions to hospital.
Keywords : Inappropriate drug use; Potentially inappropriate medication list; Aged