A Study to Assess the Prevalence of Medication Related Problems in Elderly Patients

Medication-related problems are referred to drug therapy that interferes with or can intervene with the preferred health outcomes for a patient. The geriatric populace that almost represents 21% of the whole populace, devours a remarkable deal of drug treatments due to the age-associated physiological changes, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics alterations, consequently developing into medication related problems. The high prevalence of multiple drug use with age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics makes elderly patients vulnerable to medication-related problems.
A community-based observational study was conducted among the residents who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria belonging to different regions of Dakshina Kannada district. The duration of the study was 6 months and enrolled 150 elderly patients aged 60 years and above of either sex and diagnosed to have any disease except cancer and being bedridden , to assess the prevalence of medication-related problems in elderly patients.
Out of 150 elderly patients enrolled in the study, 107 were identified to have Medication Related Problems (MRPs). A total of 196 MRPs were identified amongst those 107 patients. The prevalence of patients with MRPs was found to be 72% in this study. The prevalence of MRPs was found to be varying among males (68.29%) and females (75%), across different age groups & others.
So, the study concluded that the number of elderly patients and multiple co-morbidities are increasing consequently with the increase in the number of medications and thus leading to increase in MRPs. So, it's vital to ensure optimum care for positive outcomes in the elderly.

Keywords: Medication-related problems, MRPs, elderly patients, geriatric populace