Characteristics of the current situation of drug use in elderly patients with chronic diseases in Chongqing: A cross-sectional survey.

Abstract

Following improved accessibility to medical services, the phenomenon of polypharmacy in elderly patients with comorbidity has been increasing globally. Polypharmacy patients are prone to drug interactions, adverse drug reactions, and even the risk of death etc. Therefore, there is an urgent need to fully understand the current status and characteristics of drug use in elderly patients with chronic diseases, focusing on polypharmacy factors to ensure that medications for elderly patients are effective and safe. To collect and analyze the characteristics of the current drug use situation in elderly patients with chronic diseases in Chongqing and further explore the influencing factors for polypharmacy, providing references for formulating more effective and safe medication regimens for elderly patients. Most elderly patients affected with chronic diseases in Chongqing were willing to go to hospitals or pharmacies to buy medicines. However, they were not familiar with their disease conditions and drug-related adverse reactions and could not be regularly followed up or monitored. The number of diseases, medications, and adverse drug reactions increased with the increasing age of elderly patients. The problem of irrational use of drugs in elderly patients with chronic diseases was relatively prominent, especially the use of traditional Chinese medicines. The medication situation in elderly patients with chronic diseases was not optimistic, and the problem of polypharmacy was relatively prominent. Further large-scale studies are needed to provide a certain reference for improving the current status of drug use in elderly patients.