|
KMID : 0869220100140010050
|
|
Journal of Korean Geriatric Psychiatry
2010 Volume.14 No. 1 p.50 ~ p.57
|
|
|
A Study on Polypharmacy in the Elderly Psychiatric Outpatients with Persistent Treatments for 3 years
|
|
Yoo Hae-Sun
Jung In-Kwa
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the prescription trends for the elderly psychiatric outpatients at a university hospital.
Methods:We performed a retrospective study based on medical records. Data on 146 elderly patients (65 years and older) diagnosed
with psychiatric disorders according to ICD-10 from January 2005 to March 2008 were collected. Analyses were performed
regarding demographic characteristics, prevalence of polypharmacy, and the doses and types of drugs prescribed.
Results:In 146 subjects, the mean age was 76.14±5.21. More than five types of drugs were prescribed to 49.5% of the patients in
2008. The percentage of stable users (those without changes in the category of polypharmacy for 3 years) was 69.8%. Each patient
received an average of 4.20±1.50 kinds of drugs in 2005 and 4.02±1.77 in 2008. The average dose of drugs was 6.1±3.50 in 2005
and 6.49±4.09 in 2008, and the difference was not statistically significant. The average number of types of psychiatric drugs prescribed
to the patients decreased from 2.37±0.86 in 2005 to 2.17±0.87 in 2008 (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Although practice of polypharmacy showed a slow increase over the 3 years from 2005 to 2008, almost half of the
elderly patients we studied received multiple drugs. Since polypharmacy can increase drug-drug interactions and adverse effects in
the elderly, appropriate drug monitoring and careful prescription are necessary.
|
|
|
KEYWORD
|
|
|
The elderly·Polypharmacy·Psychiatric drugs.
|
|
|
FullTexts / Linksout information
|
|
|
|
|
|
Listed journal information
|
|
  
|