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Prescribing medication in long-term dialysis units
Archives of Internal Medicine
|July 1, 1982
Summary
Long-term dialysis patients use an average of 7.7 medications, with higher use linked to age and comorbidities. This polypharmacy increases risks of drug duplication, errors, and interactions, highlighting the need for medication review.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Clinical Pharmacy
- Pharmacoeconomics
Background:
- Limited data exists on current medication prescribing patterns in long-term dialysis settings.
- Dialysis patients often have multiple comorbidities, increasing the likelihood of polypharmacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate medication use patterns in a large cohort of long-term dialysis patients.
- To identify factors associated with increased medication frequency and assess associated risks.
Main Methods:
- A survey of medication records from 1,023 patients across 27 long-term dialysis centers.
- Analysis of medication frequency, duplication, dosage errors, drug interactions, and contraindications.
Main Results:
- The average patient in long-term dialysis was prescribed 7.7 medications.
- Increased medication use was associated with older age, longer dialysis duration, in-center dialysis, and diabetic/hypertensive nephropathy.
- Polypharmacy correlated with significant rates of drug duplication (12%), potential dosage errors (9%), drug interactions (15%), and contraindicated drug use (2.5%).
- Considerable variability in drug prescribing existed between centers, with a lack of individualized treatment apparent.
Conclusions:
- Long-term dialysis patients exhibit high rates of polypharmacy with associated risks.
- Significant inter-center variability in medication use suggests a need for standardized prescribing guidelines and regular medication reviews.
- Periodic medication review is crucial in long-term dialysis to optimize patient safety and treatment efficacy.