RT Book, Section
A1 Sengstock, David
A1 Zimmerman, Jonathan
A2 Williams, Brie A.
A2 Chang, Anna
A2 Ahalt, Cyrus
A2 Chen, Helen
A2 Conant, Rebecca
A2 Landefeld, C. Seth
A2 Ritchie, Christine
A2 Yukawa, Michi
SR Print(0)
ID 1100069326
T1 Addressing Polypharmacy & Improving Medication Adherence in Older Adults
T2 Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Geriatrics, 2e
YR 2014
FD 2014
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-179208-0
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1100069326
RD 2024/04/24
AB Older  adults  are  the  largest  consumers  of  prescription  drugs.  A  large  survey  reported  that  more  than  one-half  of  patients  57–85  years  old  used  at  least  5  prescription  medications,  nonprescription  medications,  and  nutritional  supplements.  Predictably,  the  number  of  medications  steadily  increased  with  the  age  of  the  patient.  This  survey  also  reported  that  1  in  20  of  these  patients  risked  a  major  drug–drug  interaction;  half  of  these  interactions  included  a  nonprescription  agent.  Research  demonstrates  that  polypharmacy  is  an  independent  risk  factor  for  adverse  outcomes,  including  hospitalization,  nursing  home  placement,  hypoglycemia,  falls  and  fractures,  pneumonia,  and  malnutrition,  and  death.  Older  adults  are  also  generally  less  tolerant  to  the  effects  of  a  medication.  This  intolerance  can  manifest  as  an  exaggerated  effect  of  a  medication  or  even  a  different  effect  as  compared  to  younger  patients,  and  is  described  at  length  in  Chapter  9,  “Principles  of  Prescribing  for  Older  Adults.”