Salih Salih Bin, Yousuf Muhammad, Durihim Huda, Almodaimegh Hind, Tamim Hani
Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City and King Saud Bin Abulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City and King Saud Bin Abulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
J Family Community Med. 2013 Sep;20(3):162-7. doi: 10.4103/2230-8229.121987.
The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy (PP) and the associated factors in medical outpatients.
A cross-sectional, observational, descriptive study was carried out in adult medical outpatients attending internal medicine clinics at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 1 March 2009 to 31 December 2009. PP was defined as the concomitant use of ≥5 medications daily. The number of medications being currently taken by patient was recorded. Effect of patients' age, gender, educational level, number of prescribers, disease load and disease type on PP was assessed by multivariate analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Incorporated (SPSS Inc) Version 18.
Out of 766 patients included in the study, 683 (89%) had PP. The mean number of prescribed medications, oral pills and doses was 8.8, 9.6 and 12.1, respectively. Factors significantly associated with PP included age (≥61 years), disease load and the number of prescribers. Gender had no impact on PP while education beyond primary education significantly decreased PP. Hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia alone and as a cluster increased PP.
We found an extremely high level of PP in medical outpatients at our tertiary care center. The impact of PP on medication compliance and control of underlying diseases in Saudi Arabia is unknown and needs to be studied at different levels of care.
本研究旨在评估内科门诊患者中多重用药（PP）的患病率及其相关因素。
于2009年3月1日至2009年12月31日在沙特阿拉伯利雅得阿卜杜勒阿齐兹国王医疗城内科门诊对成年内科门诊患者进行了一项横断面、观察性、描述性研究。PP被定义为每日同时使用≥5种药物。记录患者当前正在服用的药物数量。使用社会科学统计软件包公司（SPSS Inc）第18版通过多变量分析评估患者年龄、性别、教育水平、开处方者数量、疾病负担和疾病类型对PP的影响。
在纳入研究的766例患者中，683例（89%）存在PP。处方药物、口服药丸和剂量的平均数分别为8.8、9.6和12.1。与PP显著相关的因素包括年龄（≥61岁）、疾病负担和开处方者数量。性别对PP无影响，而小学以上教育显著降低PP。单纯的高血压、糖尿病和血脂异常以及作为一组疾病会增加PP。
我们在三级医疗中心的内科门诊患者中发现了极高的PP水平。PP对沙特阿拉伯药物依从性和基础疾病控制的影响尚不清楚，需要在不同护理层面进行研究。
