Conclusions The use of sedatives and hypnotics and antidepressants including tricyclic antidepressants , selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors , and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors appears to be related with an increased risk of falls .
It is not clear if the use of antihypertensive medications is associated with the risk of falls in older people
Purpose Falls are an important public health problem in older people .
Medication use is considered a risk factor for falls .
This study systematic ally review ed recent studies to determine the medications that might be associated with the risk of falling in older people .
Polypharmacy, adverse drug-related events, and potential adverse drug interactions in elderly patients presenting to an emergency department.
STUDY OBJECTIVES We sought to document the degree of polypharmacy , the frequency of adverse drug-related events ( ADREs ) leading to emergency department presentation that were recognized by emergency physicians , and the frequency of potential adverse drug interactions ( PADIs ) in medication regimens of elderly patients in the ED . METHODS We conducted a retrospective chart review on 300 r and omly selected ED visits made by patients 65 years of age and older between January 1 and December 31 , 1998 . ADREs were defined according to a st and ardized algorithm . PADIs were identified by using the drug interaction data base PharmVigilance . RESULTS After excluding 17 patient visits with inadequate documentation , 283 were left for review . Of these , 257 ( 90.8 % ) patients were taking 1 or more medications ( prescribed or over the counter ) . The number of medications consumed ranged from 0 to 17 and averaged 4.2 ( SD+/-3.1 ) drugs per patient . ADREs accounted for 10.6 % of all ED visits in our patient group . The most frequently implicated classes of medications were nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , antibiotics , anticoagulants , diuretics , hypoglycemics , beta-blockers , calcium-channel blockers , and chemotherapeutic agents . Thirty-one percent of all patients in our group had at least 1 PADI in their medication list . Among patients who presented because of an ADRE , 50 % had at least 1 PADI in their medication list that was unrelated to the ADRE with which they presented . CONCLUSION ADREs are an important cause of ED presentation in the elderly . PADIs are found in a significant proportion of medication lists . Emergency physicians must be vigilant in monitoring elderly patients for medication-related problems
Conclusions The use of sedatives and hypnotics and antidepressants including tricyclic antidepressants , selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors , and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors appears to be related with an increased risk of falls .
It is not clear if the use of antihypertensive medications is associated with the risk of falls in older people
Purpose Falls are an important public health problem in older people .
Medication use is considered a risk factor for falls .
This study systematic ally review ed recent studies to determine the medications that might be associated with the risk of falling in older people .