Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
Wagga Wagga Rural Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
Australas J Ageing. 2021 Dec;40(4):366-372. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12909. Epub 2021 Feb 10.
OBJECTIVE(S): Polypharmacy is associated with significant morbidity including cognitive decline and falls. We sought to quantify the extent of polypharmacy and use of medications associated with fall risk in the very old admitted to a regional NSW hospital.
Cross-sectional study of patients aged over 80 years admitted to a regional NSW hospital from September to October 2019. Demographic data and medication usage on admission were collected. Polypharmacy was defined as regular use of five or more medications.
A total of 401 patients were included: mean age was 87.2 (±4.6) years and 56.9% were female. Of the participations, 82.9% experienced polypharmacy, and the mean number of medications was 8.2 (±4.2). Of the patients, 91.6% utilised medications associated with risk of falls. There was no association between age and number of preadmission regular medications.
Polypharmacy is extremely common prior to acute hospitalisation for regional older individuals. This highlights the importance of medication rationalisation to reduce medication-related harm.
药物滥用与认知能力下降和跌倒等显著发病率有关。我们旨在量化非常老的入住新南威尔士州地区医院的患者的药物滥用程度以及与跌倒风险相关的药物使用情况。
这是一项 2019 年 9 月至 10 月在新南威尔士州地区医院住院的 80 岁以上患者的横断面研究。收集了人口统计学数据和入院时的药物使用情况。药物滥用定义为经常使用五种或更多种药物。
共有 401 名患者入选：平均年龄为 87.2（±4.6）岁，女性占 56.9%。参与者中 82.9%存在药物滥用，平均用药 8.2（±4.2）种。91.6%的患者使用了与跌倒风险相关的药物。年龄与入院前常规用药数量之间无关联。
在为该地区的老年人进行急性住院治疗之前，药物滥用非常普遍。这突出表明了药物合理化的重要性，以减少与药物相关的伤害。
