Related Experiment Videos
Year in review: medication mishaps in the elderly
Emily P Peron1, Zachary A Marcum, Richard Boyce
1Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
The American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy
|April 5, 2011
Summary
This review highlights 2010 research on medication errors and adverse drug events (ADEs) in the elderly. Findings show interventions can reduce medication mishaps and improve patient safety in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Pharmacotherapy
- Patient Safety Research
- Medication Error Analysis
Background:
- Medication mishaps, including medication errors and adverse drug events (ADEs), pose significant risks to the elderly population.
- Understanding the scope and nature of these events is crucial for improving geriatric care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and synthesize findings from 2010 research on medication errors and ADEs in elderly individuals.
- To identify key studies examining the causes, consequences, and potential interventions for medication-related problems in older adults.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for English-language articles published in 2010.
- Inclusion of search terms related to medication errors, adherence, prescribing, monitoring, ADEs, and the elderly.
- Manual search of reference lists and author files to identify additional relevant publications; selection of five key studies for detailed critique.
Main Results:
- Studies examined medication underuse, reduction of inappropriate medication prescribing via clinical decision support systems, and disparities in antihypertensive medication adherence and complementary/alternative medicine use among racial groups.
- One study linked skeletal muscle relaxant use to increased fracture risk in Medicare Advantage patients, particularly with concurrent benzodiazepine use.
- An educational intervention for healthcare teams significantly reduced ADE rates in a rehabilitation setting.
Conclusions:
- The reviewed studies provide valuable insights into various types of medication errors and ADEs affecting the elderly.
- Findings can inform healthcare professionals, guide future research, and shape clinical practices to enhance medication safety in older adults.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Drug 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...
01:26Pharmaceutical Poisoning: Potential Scenarios
Pharmaceutical poisoning can occur through various channels, impacting an estimated 2 million hospitalized patients in the U.S. annually with serious adverse drug responses. These scenarios encompass both therapeutic uses, such as drug toxicity, where even standard dosages can lead to severe central nervous system depression, and non-therapeutic exposures, including accidental ingestion by children, and environmental and occupational exposures.Unintentional poisonings often involve exploratory...
01:22Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption
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...
01:18Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion
In geriatric patients, renal physiology undergoes significant changes, including diminished renal blood flow and a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR), leading to alterations in medication clearance. Drugs such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, lithium, and digoxin, which rely on glomerular filtration for removal from the body, particularly impact pharmacokinetics. These drugs tend to have slower clearance rates in older adults, necessitating careful dosage considerations.Evaluation of renal...
01:24Drug Toxicity: Risk factors
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...
01:27Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
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...