Inappropriate Medication Use in the Elderly Population Attending Gondar University Hospital: a Preliminary Assessment

Objective: To assess the prevalence and associated factors of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) use in the elderly population attending Gondar University Hospital (GUH). Methods: A two years (2011-2012) retrospective cross sectional analysis was conducted in Gondar University Hospital (GUH). Elderly patients, aged ≥65 years treated with prescription drugs were included in the study. Updated Beers criteria (2012 version) independent of diagnosis was employed to determine the appropriateness of each medication prescribed and SPSS (version16.0) was used for data analysis. P-value < 0.05 was considered as significant association indicator between the variables. Results: A total sample of 1252 patients were used in the study, of whom 347(27.72%) were received at least one potentially inappropriate medication. The mean age of the participants was 71.15 ± 6.18. The most commonly used medications were immediate release nifedipine (53.89%), diclofenac (22.19%), ibuprofen (7.78%) and indomethacin (5.19%). PIM use and our variables were not associated with the prevalence of PIM use among the elderly. Conclusion: PIMs prescriptions for elderly population attending GUH are common with no association with any of our demographic or any other variables we set, which implies to work on improving the availability of updated medical information and knowledge for prescribers and to involve in careful monitoring and optimal use of drug regimens of elderly patients attending GUH.