Interactions between prescription drugs in hospitalized geriatric patients

Abstract

Background: It is estimated that, on average, a hospitalized patient receives between six and ten medications simultaneously. Moreover, older adults present physiological changes typical of aging, polypharmacy, and polypathology. The above considerably increases the possibility of drug interactions. Objective: Detect potential drug interactions (PDI) in 49 clinical files of hospitalized geriatric patients in Puebla, Mexico. Material and methods: The platform drugs.com was used to analyze forty-nine clinical charts of hospitalized geriatric patients 65 years or older. Results: 185 different types of PDI were detected, affecting 85.7% of the patients; 18.5% of these with high severity, 71% moderate, and 10.5% low. The most frequent PDI found on five occasions was Ondansetron-Tramadol, considered as serious. The most frequent drug involved was dexamethasone, repeating seventeen times, and causing nineteen PDIs. Conclusions: It is important to exercise pharmacovigilance in hospitalized geriatric patients to prevent the appearance of adverse reactions associated with drug interactions.

Keywords

• Medication errors. Geriatrics. Polypharmacy. Drug interactions. Drug prescriptions.