Investigation of polypharmacy frequency and potential drug-drug interactions in patients aged 65 and over who applied to family medicine outpatient clinics

AIM: Polypharmacy is one of the main risk factors for increasing potential drug-drug interactions. As the incidence of chronic diseases increases with age, older people are at greater risk. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of polypharmacy and drug-drug interactions in patients aged 65 years and older. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is a retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study. It was conducted through a review of the records of patients aged 65 and older who applied to the Family Medicine Outpatient Clinics of Sakarya Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. 690 patients were included. The SPSS 27.0 program was used for the statistical analysis. A significance level of p<0.01 was assumed. RESULTS: The frequency of polypharmacy in this study was 36,4%, and the number of chronic diseases and polypharmacy were found to be statistically significant (p<0.001). Potential drug-drug interactions were examined using the Medscape and Drugs.com databases and the most common type of potential interaction was intermediate-type. According to both databases the serious types of potential drug interactions were found as 5,7% and 3,5%, respectively. According to both databases, the drugs that most commonly involved in potential drug-drug interactions were: aspirin, hydrochlorothiazide, metoprolol. According to both databases, the presence of potential drug-drug interactions, the number of chronic diseases and polypharmacy were statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The medications that patients take regularly should be reviewed at each referral. Serious and contraindicated potential drug-drug interactions should be recognized and treatments adjusted accordingly. In addition, the development and use of applications such as computer-based warning systems during prescribing may help prevent or reduce serious and contraindicated potential drug-drug interactions in patients. Due to differences in the databases, using two different databases when investigating potential drug-drug interactions may provide more accurate results.