A significant prevalence of ADRs was found among hospitalised elderly people. The risk factors associated with ADRs in this population included use of drugs considered to be inappropriate for that population, number of previous diagnoses and number of administered drugs. More appropriate drug prescription could avoid part of this burden of disease by minimising preventable ADRs.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES: In Brazil, few studies have investigated the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) among elderly outpatients. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PIMs prescribed for elderly outpatients, identify the PIMs most commonly involved, and investigate whether age, sex and number of medications are related to prescription of such medications.

The three risk factors that showed a significant association with the appearance of ADR seem to have a very coherent relationship between each other. It is reasonable to expect that patients who present several diagnoses will need various drugs and may have a greater risk of receiving an inappropriate one. Conclusion: Significant prevalence of adverse drug reactions was found among hospitalized elderly people. The risk factors associated with these were the number of diagnoses, the number of medications and the use of medication considered to be inappropriate.

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