Prescriptions for elderly often inappropriate:
study
By: Unknown Author
Reuters Health
August 15, 2002
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As many as 12.5% of
Finnish seniors may be taking an inappropriate drug, a new study has
found.
"Multiple drug use is common in elderly patients
because of an increase in the number of medical conditions as one
ages," write lead author Dr. Kaisu H. Pitkala of the Helsinki
University Hospital in Finland and colleagues.
This increases the risk of harmful drug interactions
and adverse side-effects, as well as the likelihood that patients won't
comply with their prescribed drug regimen, the researchers note in the
August 12/26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
A panel of experts has established criteria for
appropriate drugs for elderly patients, as well as inappropriate drugs for
those with certain medical conditions. These criteria were updated in
1997.
To investigate how often elderly patients were
prescribed drugs that these criteria deemed inappropriate, the researchers
mailed questionnaires to 3,921 people aged 75, 80, 85, 90 and 95.
"Of the respondents, 12.5%, 1.3% and 0.2% were
taking at least 1, 2, or 3 inappropriate drugs, respectively," the
authors write.
Dipyridamole, an anti-clotting medication, and
long-acting benzodiazepines, a type of sedative, topped the list of
inappropriately prescribed medicines. Nearly 4% of patients reported
taking dipyridamole, while almost 3% had been prescribed benzodiazepines.
And among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, Pitkala and colleagues found, 27% were taking beta-blockers,
which could further impair breathing. Nineteen percent were taking
potentially breath-suppressing sedatives.
Roughly 32% of diabetics taking oral medications to
bring down blood sugar or insulin
also took beta-blockers, which may hide symptoms of low blood sugar.
Nearly 38% of patients with blood vessel disease in their extremities, or
peripheral vascular disease, were also taking beta-blockers, which have
the potential of intensifying leg pain.
"Compared with previous surveys, the use of
inappropriate medications in our home-dwelling, elderly population is
conspicuously low," the researchers report. "In contrast, use of
certain drugs considered inappropriate with different medical conditions
was relatively high."
Pitkala and colleagues conclude their report by
noting that the prescribing of inappropriate medications may be a result
of physicians using "inflexible and explicit" criteria to make
their decisions.
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine
2002;162:1707-1712.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This
page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been
specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging
distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a
prior interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such
copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to
use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go
beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|
