Klin Farmakol Farm. 2008;22(2):81-85

Use of potentially inappropriate medication in elderly patients in the region of the former Czechoslovakia

Martin Wawruch, et. al
Farmakologický ústav Lekárskej fakulty UK, Bratislava

Elderly people represent a highly vulnerable population with respect to the pharmacotherapy risk. Higher frequency of adverse drug events in the elderly associated with the administration of selected drugs has led to the development of specific criteria of potentially inappropriate medications in the aged (≥ 65 years). Several lists of potentially inappropriate medications have been created. These criteria reflect regional prescription habits as well as local availability of registered drugs. The Beers lists are among the best recognized. In the conditions of Central and Eastern European countries – including the Czech and Slovak Republics – country-specific lists of potentially inappropriate medications have not yet been created. Therefore, the aims of the present article were: a) to summarize the potential inappropriateness of selected medications listed in the 2003 Beers list and b) to compare the use of such medications in the Slovak Republic with the results of similar studies carried out in the Czech Republic. Few epidemiological studies have addressed the prescribing of potentially inappropriate medications in the elderly in the Czech and Slovak Republics using the most recent Beers criteria (2003). The most frequently prescribed medications in both countries were: digoxin in a dose of > 0.125 mg/day (except for the treatment of atrial arrhythmias), amiodarone and long-acting benzodiazepines. Similarities in the results may be explained by commonalities in the medical education system (lacking formal education in the field of geriatrics) until the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Currently available criteria of potentially inappropriate medications reflect the regional availability of drugs. Similar lists of potentially inappropriate substances should be also created in the region of the Czech and Slovak Republics.

Keywords: Key words: elderly patients, potentially inappropriate medications, Beers list, digoxin, benzodiazepines.

Published: January 1, 2009  Show citation

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Wawruch M, al E. Use of potentially inappropriate medication in elderly patients in the region of the former Czechoslovakia. Klin Farmakol Farm. 2008;22(2):81-85.
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