Clinical issues - polypharmacy and prescribing issues in older patients, such as adverse drug reactions
Definition and burden
- Polypharmacy (commonly defined as five or more regular medications) is near-universal in older patients with multimorbidity, and independently increases the risk of adverse drug reactions, interactions, and reduced adherence
- Adverse drug reactions are a leading, largely preventable cause of hospital admission in older adults, and risk rises steeply with the number of concurrent medications
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