Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Polypharmacy-related polypathology in the elderly: A case study at Ibn Sina Hospital, Morocco

Mostafa Bouaoudate¹ , Jaouad El harti¹, Redouane Abouqal², Khalid Abidi³, Amine Ali Zeggwagh³

¹Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry and Hospital Pharmacy, University Hospital Ibn Sina, Rabat, Morocco; ²Acute Medical Unit, University Hospital Ibn Sina, Rabat, Morocco; ³Medical Reanimation Service, University Hospital Ibn Sina, Rabat, Morocco, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University Mohamed V of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco.

For correspondence:- Mostafa Bouaoudate Email: bouaoudate2@gmail.com Tel:+212667221406

Accepted: 26 September 2022 Published: 28 October 2022

Citation: Bouaoudate M, El harti J, Abouqal R, Abidi K, Zeggwagh AA. Polypharmacy-related polypathology in the elderly: A case study at Ibn Sina Hospital, Morocco. Trop J Pharm Res 2022; 21(10):2161-2166 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v21i10.17

© 2022 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the polypathological and therapeutic profiles of a population of elderly subjects at the Ibn Sina Hospital, Rabat, Morocco.

Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional observational study on a population made up of 356 patients aged ≥ 65 years. Data were collected from different departments during the study period, regarding age, sex, educational level, socio-cultural and economic status, self-care ability, polypathologies, polymedication, effectiveness of treatments, adverse effects, and knowledge of the concept of generic medication. The results, which are presented in percentages and simple averages, were processed with Excel 2016 software.

Results: Patients aged 66 - 75 years comprised 60.4 % of the studied population. The most common pathologies were diabetes, asthma, and cardiovascular disease. A total of 237 patients (66.6 %) took < 6 drugs, while 119 patients (33.4 %) were on polypharmacy, i.e., > 6 drugs. The elderly were more vulnerable to polypathology and polypharmacy due to age-related reduction in physiological functions and their impact on pharmacological parameters. Polypathology led to polypharmacy which increased the risk of side effects and problems with adherence to medications.

Conclusion: This study provides information on the pathological profiles of a population of elderly subjects in a Moroccan hospital, and details of the therapeutic strategies used in managing these patients.

Keywords: Polypharmacy, Paleopathology, Elderly subjects, Ibn Sina hospital, Public health