Abstract

A PROSPECTIVE SURVEILLANCE STUDY OF POLYPHARMACY IN GERIATRICS: IMPLICATIONS OF AGE, GENDER, RISK-FACTORS AND DRUG INTERACTIONS

Blessy Maria Thomas*, Divya Mol E. C, Jagat Kumar Tamang, Basavaraj K. Nanjwade

ABSTRACT

Background: The term polypharmacy refers to the concurrent use of multiple medications by an individual. Geriatrics is more prone to polypharmacy due to the pharmacokinetic pharmacodynamic changes and co-morbid conditions etc. Objective: To study the effect of polypharmacy in geriatrics in The Oxford Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Bangalore. To study the implications of age, gender, risk factors and the occurrence of drug related problems like drug interactions, adverse drug reactions and medication errors are also studied. Methodology: By considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, patient information was collected for a period of six months from the patient case files and directly from the patients. The obtained 150 patient information has been evaluated for the occurrence of polypharmacy in different departments of the hospital. The implications of gender and age of the patient, and Risk factors were analyzed. Drug interactions and other drug related problems were found out. Results: The study was conducted by collecting 150 cases for a period of 6 months. The major fraction of the patients were in the age group of 65-75 years(75%) and from the General Medicine department(43.75%).The major risk factor of polypharmacy was found to be co-morbid conditions. The occurrence of drug interaction was found to be 74(77.08%), adverse drug reactions 12(12.5%) and medication errors 37(38.54%) of patients. 59% of drug interactions were found to be moderate. Conclusion: Polypharmacy has become necessary for geriatrics with co morbidities. At the same time it is a growing concern for the treating physician. Potential drug-drug interactions, medication errors and adverse drug reactions were noted which indicates the need for improving the awareness of physicians about prescribing in elderly.

Keywords: Polypharmacy, Surveillance, Geriatrics, Gender, Age, Risk-factors, Drug interaction.