TY - JOUR
T1 - The prevention of adverse drug reactions in older subjects
AU - Cherubini, Antonio
AU - Ruggiero, Carmelinda
AU - Gasperini, Beatrice
AU - Dellaquilal, Giuseppina
AU - Cupido, Maria Grazia
AU - Zampi, Elena
AU - Zengarini, Elisa
AU - Nguyen, Hao Nguyen
AU - Serra, Rocco
AU - Corsonello, Andrea
AU - Lattanzio, Fabrizia
PY - 2011/9
Y1 - 2011/9
N2 - Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a public health problem in older subjects, being responsible for a significant morbidity, disability and mortality. Older subjects are more susceptible to develop ADRs mainly due to polypharmacy, multimorbidity and inappropriate prescribing. The prevention of these drug related negative events represents an important aim for physicians treating older patients. Several strategies could potentially be employed, including state of the art education of medical students and physicians concerning principles of geriatric medicine and appropriate prescription in older subjects, reduction of inappropriate drug use by means of computerized decision support systems, pharmacist involvement and comprehensive geriatric assessment, and finally the identification of at risk older patients. However, there is currently a lack of scientific evidence demonstrating that these strategies can achieve a reduction in ADRs and therefore future intervention studies should be performed to evaluate the best intervention to decrease the burden of drug related problems in the older population.
AB - Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a public health problem in older subjects, being responsible for a significant morbidity, disability and mortality. Older subjects are more susceptible to develop ADRs mainly due to polypharmacy, multimorbidity and inappropriate prescribing. The prevention of these drug related negative events represents an important aim for physicians treating older patients. Several strategies could potentially be employed, including state of the art education of medical students and physicians concerning principles of geriatric medicine and appropriate prescription in older subjects, reduction of inappropriate drug use by means of computerized decision support systems, pharmacist involvement and comprehensive geriatric assessment, and finally the identification of at risk older patients. However, there is currently a lack of scientific evidence demonstrating that these strategies can achieve a reduction in ADRs and therefore future intervention studies should be performed to evaluate the best intervention to decrease the burden of drug related problems in the older population.
KW - Adverse drug reaction
KW - Comprehensive geriatric assessment
KW - Inappropriate prescription
KW - Multimorbidity
KW - Older subject
KW - Polypharmacy
KW - Prevention
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79961045562&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.2174/138920011796504482
DO - 10.2174/138920011796504482
M3 - Article
C2 - 21495975
AN - SCOPUS:79961045562
VL - 12
SP - 652
EP - 657
JO - Current Drug Metabolism
JF - Current Drug Metabolism
SN - 1389-2002
IS - 7
ER -