Potential drug–drug interactions among elderly patients admitted to medical ward of Ayder Referral Hospital, Northern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThe elderly are considered as special population, as they differ from younger adults in terms of comorbidity, polypharmacy, pharmacokinetics, vulnerability to drug–drug interactions and adverse drug reactions. Despite the fact that the elderly patients are at high risk of having drug interaction and potential adverse outcomes, studies in this regard are scarce in resource limited settings like Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and determinants of potential drug–drug interaction in elderly patients admitted to medical ward of Ayder Referral Hospital in Northern Ethiopia.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted among elderly inpatients aged 60 years and above. The study was conducted from February to May 2014. Prescribed drugs being taken concurrently for at least 24 h were included and checked for drug–drug interaction using Micromedex® 2.0 online drug reference. Data were analyzed using statistical software, statistical package for social sciences for windows version 20. Logistic regression model was used to analyze factors associated with occurrence of drug interaction. P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsA total of 140 patients were participated in the study. The mean age (±standard deviation) of participants was 68 (±7) years. Majority (61.4 %) of patients were diagnosed with cardiovascular and/or renal diseases. A total of 814 drugs were prescribed with a mean of 6 (±4) medications per patient during a 13 (±9) days of hospital stay. About two-third (62.2 %) of the respondents were exposed to at least one potential drug–drug interaction. Among these 3.6, 32.9 and 25.7 % of patients had taken contraindicated drug combination, at least one major and at least one moderate drug–drug interaction, respectively. Patients with five or more prescribed medications were four times at risk of having drug–drug interaction (P = 0.00; adjusted odds ratio 4.047; 95 % confidence interval 1.867–8.775).ConclusionDrug–drug interaction in elderly patients was common in this resource limited set-up. Awareness creation and clinical pharmacist involvement in minimizing the risk associated with potentially harmful drug combinations are needed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-016-2238-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Polypharmacy and the Contributing Factors Among Elderly Patients in Shashemene Referral Hospital, West Arsi, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

“…This is similar with the result of study done in Ayder referral hospital, Tigray, Ethiopia, in which 38% of the participants had comorbid conditions [19].…”

Atuação do farmacêutico residente em uma unidade de pronto atendimento: contribuindo para a promoção da saúde

“…Cerca de dois terços (62,2%) dos pacientes foram expostos a pelo menos uma interação medicamentosa, o que ressalta ainda mais a importância do farmacêutico no ambiente hospitalar. 10,11 No presente estudo, foram identificados 2.087 medicamentos prescritos a 107 pacientes, superior ao número encontrado em um estudo recente realizado em um grande hospital universitário no Irã que verificou 1.031 medicamentos prescritos a 202 pacientes admitidos no setor de urgência. 12 Este número pode ser justificado, visto que em nosso estudo a idade média dos pacientes foi de 63,41 anos e no estudo acima citado foi de 53 anos, sendo que o processo de envelhecimento é acompanhado por uma maior demanda nos serviços de saúde e um maior uso de medicamentos, o que predispõe essa população à prática da polifarmácia.…”

Drug utilization evaluation among an elderly population: a retrospective cross-sectional study in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

“…Associated with this is the inappropriate use of medicines, which is the most significant problem experienced by the elderly population. It is noted that advancing age, concomitant use of multiple medicines, altered pharmacokinetics of drugs and management by multiple healthcare professionals make the elderly more prone to drug–drug interactions (DDIs) . DDIs are responsible for a range of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) as well as a significant proportion of all hospital admissions.…”

“…It has been estimated that the incidence of DDIs‐related ADRs in the elderly population ranges from 4.5 to 6.5% . The findings of one systematic review and meta‐analysis suggest that DDIs are responsible for 1.1% of hospital admissions and 0.1% of all hospital visits . Moreover, DDIs are accountable for prolonged hospital stays and this adds financial pressures to health systems that are already stretched …”