Polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing in elderly patients: a retrospective study at Buriadah Central Hospital, Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE

An increase in life expectancy has been attributed to better access to health care and viable treatment options for diseases where there were none before. However, a multiple-drug regimen increases the risk of inappropriate prescription and drug-related problems. This study aimed to investigate polypharmacy and inappropriate prescription among elderly patients in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This was a retrospective study wherein the electronic files of patients aged ≥ 60 years were reviewed and investigated for polypharmacy and inappropriate drug prescription using Beer's criteria 2019.

RESULTS

The 1123 patients who met the eligibility criteria were between 60-102 years of age (mean age: 71.9 years). 387 patients (34.46%) used five medications, while the remaining patients used more than five medications. The prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) was 66.25%. The most commonly prescribed PIMs were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, baclofen, proton pump inhibitors, diuretics, and aspirin (11.3%, 10.6%, 10.1%, 8.46%, and 5.6%, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed a high prevalence of polypharmacy, which consequently led to a high prevalence of PIMs. This is a serious health problem in the elderly population and should be prevented or tackled with caution.