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Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients01:15

Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients

Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
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Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
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Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) are potential complications that arise during pharmacotherapy, influenced by multiple risk factors. Age plays a significant role; both neonates and the elderly are at heightened risk due to their respective immature and diminished metabolic and elimination processes. Gender also impacts ADRs, with females experiencing a 1.5 to 1.7-fold greater risk than males, which may be linked to pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and hormonal differences. Notably, neonates, the...
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As individuals age, their body's physiology evolves, affecting drug pharmacokinetics. The most apparent changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract, where an increase in gastric pH, a delay in gastric emptying, and a reduction in gastrointestinal motility are observed. Remarkably, these changes do not substantially modify the absorption of orally administered drugs, particularly those absorbed via passive diffusion.Transdermal drug delivery emerges as a highly viable method for older adults due...
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Using a Real-Time Locating System to Measure Walking Activity Associated with Wandering Behaviors Among Institutionalized Older Adults
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Medication and falls: risk and optimization.

Nichola Boyle1, Vasi Naganathan, Robert G Cumming

  • 1Centre for Education and Research on Ageing, Building 18, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Concord, New South Wales 2139, Australia. n.boyle@usyd.edu.au

Clinics in Geriatric Medicine
|October 12, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Older adults are at higher risk for drug-related falls. This review highlights how medications, especially polypharmacy, contribute to falls and how medication review can prevent them.

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Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Falls are a significant concern for older adults.
  • Medications are known contributors to falls in the elderly population.
  • Polypharmacy, the use of multiple drugs, exacerbates this risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the association between drug use and falls in older adults.
  • To examine the specific role of drug classes and polypharmacy in fall risk.
  • To discuss medication-related interventions for fall prevention.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies over the past 3 decades.
  • Critical appraisal of evidence linking specific drug classes to falls.
  • Focus on community-dwelling older populations.

Main Results:

  • Robust evidence confirms a causal link between drugs and falls.
  • Specific drug classes, including benzodiazepines and antidepressants, increase fall risk.
  • Polypharmacy is strongly associated with a higher incidence of falls.

Conclusions:

  • Medications play a crucial role in falls among older adults.
  • Targeting medications through interventions can effectively prevent falls.
  • Further research and clinical practice should focus on medication management for fall prevention.