Problems Related to Medication Prescription in Older Adults
Keywords:
Medicamentos, adulto mayor, polifarmacia, reacción adversa.Abstract
Introduction: Adverse drug reactions constitute a public health problem, as they generate an increase in morbidity and mortality, hospital admissions, and higher healthcare costs in older adults.
Objective: To analyze the scientific evidence on problems related to medication prescription in older adults.
Methods: A review was conducted based on a search in the Scielo, Dialnet, Scopus, EBSCO, Pubmed databases, among others, and a thesis from the Alicia repository. The descriptors older adult, medications, polypharmacy, and adverse reaction were used. It was taken into account that 70% or more of the articles were from the last five years (between 2018 and March 2023), in English or Spanish. Duplicate articles or those on ADRs in children and specific pathologies were excluded. Forty-three articles were selected.
Analysis and synthesis of information: The main problems related to medication prescription in older adults are changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, polypharmacy, multimorbidity, self-medication, frailty, sarcopenia, and adverse drug reactions. Adverse reactions predominate in women, are cardiovascular in nature due to antihypertensives, and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to hydroxychloroquine and skin lesions due to antibiotics.
Conclusions: Rational use of medications is necessary, as is a comprehensive approach in older adults.
Keywords: medications; older adult; polypharmacy; adverse reaction.
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Copyright (c) 2026 María Dolores Mondéjar Barrios, Matilde Anaís Matos Inga, Karem Justhin Rodas Trujillo
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