Polypharmacy and Drug–drug interactions among geriatric patients: A cross-sectional study in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Ageing is a natural process. Drug interaction refers to modification of response to one drug by another when they are administered simultaneously or in quick succession. The possibility of drug interactions always increases with the number of drugs used and the severity of interactions in most of the cases are unpredictable. So, it was proposed to conduct a study on geriatric patients to analyze the impact of polypharmacy and drug-drug interactions. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of polypharmacy and analyze potential drug-drug interactions among geriatric patients attending out-patient department of a tertiary care center. Methodology: This cross sectional, observational study among geriatric patients (age >65yrs) attending medicine OPD was conducted in a tertiary care hospital at south Tamil Nadu for a period of two months (Feb-March 2020). Eligible & willing participants were enrolled and collected data were entered into Microsoft Office Excel and were analyzed using SPSS. Results: out of 100 participants, 50 were male and 50 were female. The maximum number of people were in the age groups of 65-74 years of age. It was observed that majority of participants (58) were consuming more than 7 drugs per day followed by 5 to 7 drugs (39), less than 4 drugs (3). 71 participants had moderate drug interactions while 5 participants developed major drug interactions. Conclusion: The study revealed the increased prevalence of polypharmacy and drug-drug interactions among elderly patients. It is essential to harmonize drug policy and regulatory measures to prevent the undesirable impact of polypharmacy.