Introduction: The term polypharmacy, meaning the concomitant use of multiple medications by one individual, has been widely reported in institutionalized or elderly patients. It can, however, occur in patients with chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objective: To quantify polypharmacy in a group of RA patients and to assess the risk of potential undesirable interactions between medications used for managing RA and those used for non-chronic diseases. Methods: A cohort study was carried out with 103 RA patients registered at the Strategy of Access to Medications from the Brazilian Health Ministry, at the School of Pharmacy of the city of Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina. Patients were monthly followed up by use of form completion. Drug interactions were identified by use of the Drugdex System-Thomson Micromedex ®-Interactions database. Results: Polypharmacy was found in 95.1% of the patients, and 19 potential undesirable interactions were observed between the drugs used by 74 patients (mean of 3.0 ± 1.2 interactions/ patient). All potential interactions were related to methotrexate. Omeprazole was the major representative, accounting for 29.3% of the interactions, followed by diclofenac sodium (17.6%), and metamizole sodium (13.2%). Conclusion: Considering that this study confirms that polypharmacy is a common therapeutic practice in RA patients, it is worth emphasizing the need for greater surveillance regarding the adverse effects or effectiveness reduction of certain drugs due to drug interaction.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.