Ege Tıp Dergisi

Öz

The increase in drug consumption with increasing age results in the rate of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Almost 80% of ADRs causing admission or occurring in hospital are dose-related type A reactions in nature, and thus predictable from the known pharmacology of the drug and therefore potentially avoidable. The toxicity of some drug combinations may sometimes be synergistic and be greater than the sum of the risks of toxicity of either agent used alone. Gastrointestinal disorders, platelet, bleeding and clotting disorders and cardiovascular disorders are the most frequent ADRs in geriatric emergency admissions. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, oral anticoagulants (warfarin), low-dose aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), dexamethasone, digoxin, amiodarone, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, diuretics, analgesics, antibiotics, hypoglycemic agents and antineoplastic agents are the drugs most frequently involved in ADRs. Frail elderly patients appear to be particularly at risk of ADRs and this group is also likely to be receiving several medicines. In order to recognize and to prevent ADRs at geriatric emergency admissions, good communication is crucial; physicians should develop an effective therapeutic partnership with the patient and caregivers and take the drug consumption history of the patient carefully. It is crucial to determine the adverse drug reaction by establishing a casuality relationship between the clinical diagnosis and the drug effect. In conclusion, the physicians in charge of geriatric population should bear the potential ADRs in mind while evaluating the clinical symptoms of a particular patient meticulously, making differential diagnosis and considering the therapy.