Assessment of Polypharmacy and Appropriateness of Geriatric Prescription Using Beers Criteria: A Prospective Observational Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: The elderly population has constantly been rising over the past few years. As far as drug prescribing is concerned, this population is considered to be a particular risk group as polypharmacy and age-related physiological changes make them more vulnerable to the harmful effects of drugs. There are different tools to assess the appropriateness of prescription in geriatrics. Beers criteria are one of the most used tools for determining an elderly patient’s prescription appropriateness. The study’s main objective was to assess polypharmacy and appropriateness of prescription among geriatric patients of a tertiary care hospital using Beers criteria. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out on geriatric patients (>65 years) of either gender for a period of 7 months with a validated data collection form. Prescriptions and in-patient case files were used to gather demographic information and specifics about the medications prescribed. Results: Two participants were completely disabled, i.e., GFI score 4, totally confined to bed. Polypharmacy was present in 74% of prescriptions. 50 (33.3%) Patients were on at least one potentially inappropriate medication as per Beers criteria. The current study did not see any association between frailty and PIMs identified, but there was a positive correlation seen between the number of drugs prescribed and co-morbidities with identified PIMs. Conclusion: Polypharmacy and Potentially Inappropriate medications are highly prevalent in the geriatric population, which has a significant healthcare outcome. Various criteria like Beers Criteria which is referred to as the golden standard, should be taken into account before prescribing drugs to the elderly population.