Evaluation of the patient drug noncompliance in the multiple drug use of patients with chronic diseases applied to outpatient clinics of Dicle University Medical Faculty Hospitals

Introduction and Aim: Chronic diseases are increasing worldwide especially with the prolonged life expectancy. The fact that chronic diseases require long-term drug therapy poses an important problem in terms of patient compliance to multiple drug use. Material and Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate the non-compliance of patients with chronic drug use who presented to our outpatient clinics and to examine the relevance of this situation to sociodemographic characteristics. This descriptive study included 256 individuals with chronic disease and multiple drug use who presented to the outpatient clinics of Dicle University Medical Faculty Hospitals between 01/12 / 2018 - 31/ 03/2019. A questionnaire was used face to face to assess sociodemographic characteristics, drug and treatment compliance, and p <0,05 was considered significant. Results: Of the 256 patients who participated in the study, 140 (%54,7) were female and 116 (%45,3) were male. The age of the participants ranged from 18 to 90 years, with a mean age of 59,1±1,4 years. The patients were on average 3,7±2,0 drugs. Hypertension was the most common chronic disease (%59,8). The number of drugs used by individuals aged 65 years and older was statistically significant (p=0,004). Women were taking more drugs than men (p=0,001). Although males were more likely to comply with the drug, it was statistically insignificant (p=0,071). There was no correlation between the number of drugs used and daily use (p=0,388) and early release (p=0,177). %59 of the patients did not know the drug side effect, and there was a significant positive correlation between the education level and the prospectus reading (p<0,001) and the presence of drug side effect information (p<0,001). Conclusion: In chronic diseases, it is possible to reduce patient drug incompatibility to a great extent by the strong patient-physician relationship. Especially in elderly individuals, the physician should explain the compliance of the patient to the treatment. Drug side effects should be taken into consideration when using multiple drugs and patients and their relatives should be informed about side effects. Keywords: Chronic disease, polypharmacy, old age, treatment adherence