Prescribing Pattern and Medication Inappropriateness in Geriatric Patients in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Background: Altered hepatic, renal and GIT function along with multiple comorbidities makes use of certain drugs inappropriate in geriatric population. Identification and rectification of mistakes and lacunae in the current prescribing pattern is crucial for ensuring appropriate and rational prescribing. Purpose: To study the prescribing pattern and medication inappropriateness in geriatric patients in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Material and Methods: Details of the prescribed drugs were obtained from the files of the 60 hospitalised geriatric patients and the prescribing pattern was studied. Medication inappropriateness was assessed and the inappropriate drugs were classified into various categories using Beers criteria given by American Geriatric Society. Number of prescriptions having potential for drug interactions was also calculated. Results: Average number of drugs per prescription was 7.7 with antibiotics being the most commonly prescribed drugs. 49.13% were prescribed by brand names. 12.12% drugs were prescribed inappropriately and 20% prescriptions had one or more inappropriate drug. Potential drug-drug interactions that should be avoided in older adults were found in 11.6% prescriptions. Conclusion: A considerable fraction of the prescriptions of geriatric patients were inappropriate and incidence of polypharmacy was very high. There is a pressing need to educate the physicians about the mistakes in the prescribing pattern of geriatric patients and the adverse effect it can have on the health of these patients.