Abstract
Objective
To analyze the pharmacotherapeutic profile of the old people assisted at a Reference Center in Health Care for Old People regarding the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) using three screening criteria and to determine factors associated with the prescription of PIM.
Method
Cross-sectional study with data obtained by retrospective review of the medical records of the old people, attended between 2017 and 2018 by a geriatric doctor. To identify the PIM, the Beers Criteria, the Screening Tool of Older Persons’ Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions (STOPP) and the Brazilian Consensus on Potentially Inappropriate Medications for Old People were used. Characteristics related to the sociodemographic profile (age and sex), lifestyle (smoking and alcohol consumption), clinical (diseases) and pharmacotherapeutic (medications and Medication Regimen Complexity Index - MRCI) were evaluated.
Results
406 medical records were analyzed and 3,059 prescription medications were identified, of which 32.1% are PIM according to STOPP Criteria, 14.4% by the Brazilian Consensus and 11.7% by the Beers Criteria. In total, 81.1% of the old people had at least one PIM. Poisson regression demonstrated an association between the prescription of PIM with polypharmacy, a greater number of signs and symptoms and a higher MRCI value in at least one of the criteria. The strength of agreement between the PIM criteria was moderate.
Conclusions
Most of the analyzed medical records had at least one prescribed PIM, and the STOPP Criteria identified a greater amount of PIM. Strategies must be implemented to improve the pharmacotherapy of old people with attention to those who have factors associated with PIM in their profile.
Keywords
Health of the Elderly; Potentially Inappropriate Medicaton List; Polypharmacy