OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing (PIP) and many different drugs in hospitalized elderly client in the infirmary of medical clinic, Lauro Wanderley University Hospital (LWUH), Federal University of Paraíba. METHODOLOGY: Observational and cross-sectional analysis of prescriptions geriatric performed by resident physicians in internal medicine at LWUH. The sample was composed of all elderly patients hospitalized in the LWUH between May 2007 and May 2008. The Beers-Fick criteria were used to identify PIP. Poly-pharmacotherapy was defined as the use of more than five drugs per prescription. RESULTS: We evaluated 79 patients aged 60 to 94 years (70.4 + / - 7.3), 59.5% were male. The number of medications used ranged from 2 to 12 (6.1 + / -2.0) per patient. The most prescribed therapeutic classes were due to digestive (83.6%), cardiovascular (63.9%) and nervous (49.2%). The most frequently prescribed were metoclopramide, ranitidine, dipyrone and captopril. Most patients, 36 (59%), had many different drugs. More than half of patients (54.1%) received at least one inappropriate prescription, with a higher frequency of nifedipine, scopolamine and diazepam. CONCLUSIONS: We identified, in addition to a high prevalence of PIP and many different drugs, over-prescription anti-ulcer and anti-emetics in the sample. These results indicate that more attention should be given to prescribing for elderly patients. The diffusion of the concept of PIP for elderly patients through continuing education for medical residents could help the adoption of the Beers-Fick criteria, not yet known throughout the medical community.
Drug Prescriptions; Health of the Elderly; Hospitalization; Polypharmacy
