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Inappropriate prescribing in older people

Part of: Bespoke shallow archive Weizmann

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2008

Paul Gallagher  and
Denis O'Mahony
Paul Gallagher*
Affiliation:
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland
Denis O'Mahony
Affiliation:
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland
*
Address for correspondence: Paul Gallagher, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Cork, Ireland.
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Extract

Optimal prescribing is critical to the goals of geriatric medicine of curing disease, eliminating or reducing symptoms, and improving functioning. However, prescribing decisions in older people are often complex. There is marked heterogeneity in health status and functional capacity amongst older people, who range from fit, active, independent individuals to those who are physically and mentally frail, with limited physiological reserve. Age-related changes in physiology affect drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and together with various pathological processes, increase the risk of adverse drug events (ADEs). This risk is heightened by prescription of multiple medications to treat multiple co-morbidities. Consequently, balancing safety and quality of prescribing for older people with appropriate treatment of all co-morbidities can be challenging.

Type
Psychological and social gerontology
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 2008 , pp. 65 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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