Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare (May 2024)

Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Hospitalized Older Patients in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia Using 2023 Beers Criteria: A Retrospective Multi-Centric Study

  • Prabahar K,
  • Alhawiti MS,
  • Yosef AM,
  • Alqarni RS,
  • Sayd FY,
  • Alsharif MO,
  • Subramani V,
  • Alshareef H,
  • Hamdan AM,
  • Alqifari S,
  • Alqarni GS,
  • Yousuf SM

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 17
pp. 1971 – 1979

Abstract

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Kousalya Prabahar,1 Manar Saleem Alhawiti,2 Asmaa Mokhtar Yosef,2 Raghad Saleh Alqarni,2 Fai Yahya Sayd,2 Mohammed Omar Alsharif,3 Vikashini Subramani,4 Hanan Alshareef,1 Ahmed ME Hamdan,1 Saleh Alqifari,1 Ghadi Saleh Alqarni,5 Sumayah Mokhtar Yousuf6 1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia; 2Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia; 3Director of Pharmaceutical Care Administration, Ministry of Health, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Pharmacy Practice, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Nilgiris, TN, India; 5Pharmacist and Store Manager, Alnahdi Company, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia; 6Pharmacist, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Kousalya Prabahar, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71491, Saudi Arabia, Email [email protected]: Older persons are frequently prescribed several medications; therefore, inappropriate medication prescriptions are common. Prescribing potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) poses a serious risk and hence, we aimed to assess the PIMs in older patients in Tabuk, using the 2023 Beers criteria.Patients and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out, including older persons ≥ 65 years of age admitted in two government hospitals from June 2022 to May 2023, and prescribed with five or more medications. PIMs were assessed using the 2023 Beers criteria. Descriptive analysis was performed for the categorical and continuous variables. Logistic regression was used to assess the influence of age, gender, number of medications and comorbidities on PIMs using SPSS version 27.Results: The study included 420 patients. The mean age of the participants was 75.52 ± 8.70 years (range, 65– 105 years). There was a slightly higher proportion of females (52%). The prevalence of PIMs was 81.43%, where 35.41% were prescribed one PIM, 26.48% were prescribed two PIMs, and 17.32% were prescribed three PIMs. The proportion of medications considered potentially inappropriate among older patients was 70.11%, and proton pump inhibitors were the most commonly prescribed medication (52.99%). The proportion of medications to be used with caution was 19.55%, with diuretics being the most frequently administered medication (91.43%). Gender and comorbidity did not influence PIMs, but age and number of medications significantly influenced the likelihood of PIMs.Conclusion: PIMs are prevalent among older people and are significantly associated with age and multiple medications. Caution should be exercised while prescribing medications to older persons. Frequent audits should be performed to assess PIMs, and clinicians should be informed of the same to avoid serious outcomes associated with PIMs. Interventions designed to reduce PIM need to be initiated.Keywords: older persons, inappropriate medication, American Geriatrics Society, prescription

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