Abstract

Raquel S. Mendes-Netto, Claudia Q. V. Silva, Alfredo D. Oliveira Filho,, Chiara E.Rocha and Divaldo P. Lyra-Junior*

This pilot study aimed to assess drug-drug and drug-food interactions in elderly patients of a Family Health Care Unit in Aracaju, Brazil. A descriptive pilot study was performed through an interview questionnaire with 35 elderly patients (28 women) of the Family Health Care Unit. The range of consumed medications was 1 to 7, and the rate was 3.1 medications/person. This pilot study identified that 34 elderly used multiple medication and its related problems such as risk of polypharmacy (5) and drug interaction (34) . The class of drugs most commonly used was related to cardiovascular system, and alimentary tract and metabolism. Prescriptions with 2 to 3, 4 to 5 and 6 to 7 medications showed potential drug-drug interaction (39, 88.8 and 100%, respectively). Some drugs could not be administrated at meal time. These findings highlight the need for additional studies to further evaluate clinical outcomes associated with polypharmacy and potential drug-drug and drug-food interactions.