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DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1811217
POLYPHARMACY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPY
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Introduction: Polypharmacy is based upon the regular and simultaneous administration of 4 or more drugs. The population with the highest prevalence in this condition is the elderly, especially those with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, increasing the risks of drug interactions and damage related to toxicity. The high prevalence of polypharmacy is related to the increased use of potentially inappropriate drugs for the elderly (PIM), drug interactions, adverse effects, hospitalizations, poor adherence and increased mortality in geriatric cancer patients. Objective: To identify the prevalence of polypharmacy in elderly patients undergoing chemotherapy with the XELOX protocol, a combination of Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin, for gastric and colorectal cancer. Method: The study was carried out between July 2020 and October 2021, approved by the ethics committee under registration CAAE 39906820.6.0000.5243. During pharmaceutical follow-up, data on medication use were collected. Patients aged 60 years or older with gastric or colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy with the XELOX protocol were included in the study. Results: 22 patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 66.9 years and all patients were classified as polymedicated. The most used drugs, after oxaliplatin, capecitabine and supportive drugs, were antihypertensive with 81.8% of patients using them. The most used antihypertensives were losartan (59.1%) and atenolol (27.3%). Psychoactive were also identified as one of the most used with 40.9% of patients in use. The most used psychoactives were Tramadol (13.6%) and Clonazepam (9%). Antidiabetic drugs were used by 31.8% of the patients, with metformin (18.2%) and glicazide (13.6%) being the most used in the class. 89 potential drug interactions were identified out of a total of 202 drugs analyzed, with the interaction between Ondansetron and Oxaliplatin or Dexamethasone being present in all patients. Conclusion: Polypharmacy was present in all patients included in the study, and they were exposed to at least 1 potential risk of drug interaction, corroborating the importance of identifying and managing polypharmacy and potential drug interactions.
No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).
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Publication History
Article published online:
03 November 2022
© 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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Lívia Carvalho Ribeiro Pereira, Márcia Valéria Haubrich dos Passos, Frederico Villas Bôas Rodrigues, Caroline Falzoni da Cruz Simões, Ana Claudia de Almeida Ribeiro. POLYPHARMACY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPY. Brazilian Journal of Oncology 2022; 18.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1811217