Praktické lekárnictvo 1/2016

Risk of geriatrics pharmacotherapy

The importance of pharmacological treatment in geriatrics has increased recently primarily due to the ageing of the population worldwide. The peculiarities of pharmacotherapy in old age arise from the morphological and functional disparities, which are typical for an ageing organism. Each prescription of medicaments for patients above the age of 65 requires special, case-by-case attention as there are numerous factors that might affect the outcome of pharmacotherapy (physiological ageing, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes caused by ageing, polymorbidity, polypharmacotherapy, worse adaptation of the organism, non-compliance, side effects and the interaction of medicaments). The major problems in geriatric prescription are polypragmasia, i. e. excessive medication, or its opposite, the insufficient use of medication, alternatively inappropriate prescriptions. As there are different categories of inappropriate subscription, choosing a concrete way of pharmacotherapy requires a complex approach in the case of each patient.

Keywords: geriatric pharmacotherapy, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes, inappropriate medications for patients above the age of 65