Objective: An increase in life expectancy has been attributed to better access to health care and viable treatment options for diseases where there were none before. However, a multiple-drug regimen increases the risk of inappropriate prescription and drug-related problems. This study aimed to investigate polypharmacy and inappropriate prescription among elderly patients in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia.
Patients and methods: This was a retrospective study wherein the electronic files of patients aged ≥ 60 years were reviewed and investigated for polypharmacy and inappropriate drug prescription using Beer's criteria 2019.
Results: The 1123 patients who met the eligibility criteria were between 60-102 years of age (mean age: 71.9 years). 387 patients (34.46%) used five medications, while the remaining patients used more than five medications. The prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) was 66.25%. The most commonly prescribed PIMs were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, baclofen, proton pump inhibitors, diuretics, and aspirin (11.3%, 10.6%, 10.1%, 8.46%, and 5.6%, respectively).
Conclusions: This study showed a high prevalence of polypharmacy, which consequently led to a high prevalence of PIMs. This is a serious health problem in the elderly population and should be prevented or tackled with caution.