Advanced search
Publication Cover
Postgraduate Medicine Volume 86, 1989 - Issue 8
Submit an article Journal homepage
31
Views
81
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Drug interactions in the elderly

How multiple drug use increases risk exponentially

Roger J. Cadieux Dr Cadieux is vice president, Mental Health Services, Capital Health System, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and assistant professor, department of psychiatry, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey. He is a practicing geriatric psychiatrist whose professional focus is the development of consultative and educational programs that enhance the care of the elderly by the many professionals who interact with this age-group.
, MD
Pages 179-186 | Published online: 17 May 2016

Citations (81)

Keep up to date with the latest research on this topic with citation updates for this article.

Subscribe to citation updates

Read on this site (6)

Thirumurugan Gunasekaran, Natsanet Dejene, Vanapalli V. Satyaveni & Magharla Dasaratha Dhanaraju. (2015) Occurrence of drug–drug interactions in Adama Referral Hospital, Adama city, Ethiopia. Journal of Drug Assessment 4:1, pages 19-23.
Read now
Zeina Chemali, Lama M. Chahine & Gregory Fricchione. (2009) The Use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in Elderly Patients. Harvard Review of Psychiatry 17:4, pages 242-253.
Read now
Yvonne Koh, Fatimah Bte Moideen Kutty & Shu Chuen Li. (2005) Drug-related problems in hospitalized patients on polypharmacy: the influence of age and gender. Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management 1:1, pages 39-48.
Read now
RobertB. Lazow. (2000) Alcohol and Other Drug Problems in Older Adults. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community 21:1, pages 79-96.
Read now
Roger J. Cadieux. (1999) Antidepressant drug interactions in the elderly. Postgraduate Medicine 106:6, pages 231-249.
Read now
Roger J. Cadieux. (1993) Geriatric psychopharmacology. Postgraduate Medicine 93:4, pages 281-301.
Read now

Articles from other publishers (75)

M. N. Kostyleva, A. B. Strok, S. S. Postnikov, A. N. Gratsianskaya & A. E. Ermilin. (2022) Pharmacotherapy in a Multidisciplinary Paediatric Hospital: Polypharmacy and Drug–Drug Interaction Risk Illustrated with a Clinical Case. Safety and Risk of Pharmacotherapy 10:3, pages 302-314.
Crossref
Burcin M. Atak, Gulali Aktas, Tuba T. Duman, Ozge Kurtkulagi, Satilmis Bilgin, Gizem Kahveci & Muhammed E. Demirkol. (2021) Inappropriate Medication Use In Older Adults According To Beers Criteria In A Tertiary Referral Hospital, In Bolu, Turkey. Russian Open Medical Journal 10:2.
Crossref
Lara Magro, Elena Arzenton, Roberto Leone, Marilisa Giustina Stano, Michele Vezzaro, Annette Rudolph, Irene Castagna & Ugo Moretti. (2021) Identifying and Characterizing Serious Adverse Drug Reactions Associated With Drug-Drug Interactions in a Spontaneous Reporting Database. Frontiers in Pharmacology 11.
Crossref
Philippa Lilford & Julian C Hughes. 2020. Clinical Topics in Old Age Psychiatry. Clinical Topics in Old Age Psychiatry 5 23 .
. 2020. Clinical Topics in Old Age Psychiatry. Clinical Topics in Old Age Psychiatry.
Gudrun Hefner, Jan Wolff, Martina Hahn, Christoph Hiemke, Sermin Toto, Sibylle C. Roll, Thomas Messer & Ansgar Klimke. (2020) Prevalence and sort of pharmacokinetic drug–drug interactions in hospitalized psychiatric patients. Journal of Neural Transmission 127:8, pages 1185-1198.
Crossref
Raphael Sell & Marion Schaefer. (2020) Prevalence and risk factors of drug-related problems identified in pharmacy-based medication reviews. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy 42:2, pages 588-597.
Crossref
Philippa Lilford & Julian C. Hughes. (2020) Epidemiology and mental illness in old age. BJPsych Advances 26:2, pages 92-103.
Crossref
Carles Iniesta-Navalón, Juan Jose Gascón-Cánovas, Zenewton André da Silva Gama, José Francisco Sánchez-Ruiz, Erick Angelico Gutiérrez-Estrada, Ernesto De-la-Cruz-Sánchez & Owen Harrington-Fernández. (2019) Potential and clinical relevant drug-drug interactions among elderly from nursing homes: a multicentre study in Murcia, Spain. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva 24:5, pages 1895-1902.
Crossref
Jan N.M. Schieveld, Jacqueline J.M.H. Strik, Suzanne van Kraaij & Joost Nicolai. 2019. Psychopharmacology of Neurologic Disease. Psychopharmacology of Neurologic Disease 285 307 .
Maxim Kuzin, Georgios Schoretsanitis, Ekkehard Haen, Benedikt Stegmann, Christoph Hiemke, Gerhard Gründer & Michael Paulzen. (2017) Effects of the Proton Pump Inhibitors Omeprazole and Pantoprazole on the Cytochrome P450-Mediated Metabolism of Venlafaxine. Clinical Pharmacokinetics 57:6, pages 729-737.
Crossref
Giulia Scondotto, Fanny Pojero, Sebastiano Pollina Addario, Mauro Ferrante, Maurizio Pastorello, Michele Visconti, Salvatore Scondotto & Alessandra Casuccio. (2017) The impact of polypharmacy and drug interactions among the elderly population in Western Sicily, Italy. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research 30:1, pages 81-87.
Crossref
David E. Nix & Keith Gallicano. 2018. Drug Interactions in Infectious Diseases: Mechanisms and Models of Drug Interactions. Drug Interactions in Infectious Diseases: Mechanisms and Models of Drug Interactions 285 315 .
Scott R Garrison, Michael R Kolber, Christina S Korownyk, Rita K McCracken, Balraj S Heran & G Michael Allan. (2017) Blood pressure targets for hypertension in older adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2017:8.
Crossref
Michael Paulzen, Ekkehard Haen, Gerhard Gründer, Sarah E Lammertz, Benedikt Stegmann, Koen RJ Schruers, Sebastian Walther & Georgios Schoretsanitis. (2016) Pharmacokinetic considerations in the treatment of hypertension in risperidone-medicated patients – thinking of clinically relevant CYP2D6 interactions. Journal of Psychopharmacology 30:8, pages 803-809.
Crossref
Gudrun Hefner, Stefan Unterecker, Mohamed E. E. Shams, Margarete Wolf, Tanja Falter, Ekkehard Haen & Christoph Hiemke. (2015) Melperone but not bisoprolol or metoprolol is a clinically relevant inhibitor of CYP2D6: evidence from a therapeutic drug monitoring survey. Journal of Neural Transmission 122:11, pages 1609-1617.
Crossref
Scott R Garrison, Michael R Kolber, Christina S Korownyk, Rita K McCracken & G Michael Allan. 1996. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
K. P. Kerr, K. E. Mate, P. J. Magin, J. Marley, N. P. Stocks, P. Disler & C. D. Pond. (2014) The prevalence of co-prescription of clinically relevant CYP enzyme inhibitor and substrate drugs in community-dwelling elderly Australians. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics 39:4, pages 383-389.
Crossref
Andreas Hagendorff, Siegfried Freytag, Alfons Müller & Sven Klebs. (2013) Pill Burden in Hypertensive Patients Treated with Single-Pill Combination Therapy — An Observational Study. Advances in Therapy 30:4, pages 406-419.
Crossref
Bo Hovstadius & Göran Petersson. (2012) Factors Leading to Excessive Polypharmacy. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine 28:2, pages 159-172.
Crossref
C. Iniesta-Navalón, E. Urbieta-Sanz & J.J. Gascón-Cánovas. (2011) Análisis de las interacciones medicamentosas asociadas a la farmacoterapia domiciliaria en pacientes ancianos hospitalizados. Revista Clínica Española 211:7, pages 344-351.
Crossref
Bo Hovstadius, Bengt Åstrand, Ulf Persson & Göran Petersson. (2011) Acquisition cost of dispensed drugs in individuals with multiple medications—A register-based study in Sweden. Health Policy 101:2, pages 153-161.
Crossref
Takashi Tsuboi, Takefumi Suzuki & Hiroyuki Uchida. (2011) A Tipping Point in Drug Dosing in Late-Life Schizophrenia. Current Psychiatry Reports 13:3, pages 225-233.
Crossref
ANA FILIPA MACEDO, CARLOS ALVES, NUNO CRAVEIRO & FRANCISCO BATEL MARQUES. (2011) Multiple drug exposure as a risk factor for the seriousness of adverse drug reactions. Journal of Nursing Management 19:3, pages 395-399.
Crossref
David E. Nix & Keith Gallicano. 2011. Drug Interactions in Infectious Diseases. Drug Interactions in Infectious Diseases 655 682 .
Louise Gallagher. (2010) The Impact of Prescribed Medication on Swallowing: An Overview. Perspectives on Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) 19:4, pages 98-102.
Crossref
Carla McSpadden, Bruce A. Ferrell & Polly Robinson. (2010) Pain Management in Long-Term Care: Practical Considerations and New Direction. The Consultant Pharmacist 25:0, pages 1-26.
Crossref
Silvia Bustacchini, Andrea Corsonello, Graziano Onder, Enrico Eugenio Guffanti, Flavio Marchegiani, Angela Marie Abbatecola & Fabrizia Lattanzio. (2009) Pharmacoeconomics and Aging. Drugs & Aging 26:Supplement 1, pages 75-87.
Crossref
Bo Hovstadius, Bengt Åstrand & Göran Petersson. (2009) Dispensed drugs and multiple medications in the Swedish population: an individual-based register study. BMC Clinical Pharmacology 9:1.
Crossref
Giovanny Montoya, Claudia Vaca & María Fernanda Parra. (2009) Detección de efectos secundarios asociados a la administración de tramadol y dipirona en un hospital de alta complejidad. Biomédica 29:3, pages 369.
Crossref
Louise Gallagher & Premi Naidoo. (2008) Prescription Drugs and Their Effects on Swallowing. Dysphagia 24:2, pages 159-166.
Crossref
Louis B. Cantor, Darrell WuDunn, Steve Gerber, Yara Catoira & Robert C. Allen. 2008. Albert &amp Jakobiec's Principles &amp Practice of Ophthalmology. Albert &amp Jakobiec's Principles &amp Practice of Ophthalmology 2763 2801 .
Michael A. Steinman. (2007) Polypharmacy and the Balance of Medication Benefits and Risks. The American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy 5:4, pages 314-316.
Crossref
Bharat T. Thakrar, Sabine Borel Grundschober & Lucette Doessegger. (2007) Detecting signals of drug–drug interactions in a spontaneous reports database. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 64:4, pages 489-495.
Crossref
Edoardo Spina & Gianluca Trifirò. (2007) Preventing drug interactions with antidepressants in the elderly. Aging Health 3:2, pages 231-243.
Crossref
Sherrilene Classen, John Meuleman, Cynthia Garvan, L. Douglas Ried, William Mann & Nabih Asal. (2007) Review of prescription medications in home-based older adults with stroke: A pilot study. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy 3:1, pages 104-122.
Crossref
Bengt Åstrand, Emelie Åstrand, Karolina Antonov & Göran Petersson. (2006) Detection of potential drug interactions – a model for a national pharmacy register. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 62:9, pages 749-756.
Crossref
Ilene H. Zuckerman, Patricia Langenberg, Mona Baumgarten, Denise Orwig, Patricia J. Byrns, Linda Simoni-Wastila & Jay Magaziner. (2006) Inappropriate Drug Use and Risk of Transition to Nursing Homes Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Medical Care 44:8, pages 722-730.
Crossref
Jennifer L. Hardesty. (2006) Drug Therapy for Dementia—Affecting More Than Just the Mind. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation 22:3, pages 243-255.
Crossref
Barbara J. Zarowitz, Lesia A. Stebelsky, Bruce K. Muma, Tanya M. Romain & Edward L. Peterson. (2005) Reduction of High-Risk Polypharmacy Drug Combinations in Patients in a Managed Care Setting. Pharmacotherapy 25:11, pages 1636-1645.
Crossref
Bente Glintborg, Stig Ejdrup Andersen & Kim Dalhoff. (2005) Drug-drug interactions among recently hospitalised patients – frequent but mostly clinically insignificant. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 61:9, pages 675-681.
Crossref
Keith Edwards, Barbara Koumaras, Michael Chen, Ibrahim Gunay & Dario Mirski. (2005) Long-Term Effects of Rivastigmine Treatment on the Need for Psychotropic Medications in Nursing??Home Patients with Alzheimer???s Disease. Clinical Drug Investigation 25:8, pages 507-515.
Crossref
Sherrilene Classen, William Mann, Samuel S. Wu & Machiko R. Tomita. (2016) Relationship of Number of Medications to Functional Status, Health, and Quality of Life for the Frail Home-Based Older Adult. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health 24:4, pages 151-160.
Crossref
Laurence Guédon-Moreau, Dominique Ducrocq, Marie-Francoise Duc, Yves Quieureux, Catherine L’Hôte, Jean Deligne & Jacques Caron. (2003) Absolute contraindications in relation to potential drug interactions in outpatient prescriptions: analysis of the first five million prescriptions in 1999. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 59:12, pages 899-904.
Crossref
Laurence Guédon-Moreau, Dominique Ducrocq, Marie-Francoise Duc, Yves Quieureux, Catherine L’Hôte, Jean Deligne & Jacques Caron. (2003) Absolute contraindications in relation to potential drug interactions in outpatient prescriptions: analysis of the first five million prescriptions in 1999. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 59:8-9, pages 689-695.
Crossref
David Pittrow, J. Krappweis, A. Rentsch, C. Schindler, I. Hach, P. Bramlage & W. Kirch. (2003) Pattern of prescriptions issued by nursing home‐based physicians versus office‐based physicians for frail elderly patients in German nursing homes. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety 12:7, pages 595-599.
Crossref
M Di Maio, F Perrone, C Gallo, R V Iaffaioli, L Manzione, F V Piantedosi, S Cigolari, A Illiano, S Barbera, S F Robbiati, E Piazza, G P Ianniello, L Frontini, E Veltri, F Castiglione, F Rosetti, E De Maio, P Maione & C Gridelli. (2003) Supportive care in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. British Journal of Cancer 89:6, pages 1013-1021.
Crossref
Julie E. Byles, Meredith A. Tavener, Patrick E B. Fitzgerald, Balakrishnan R. Hair, Nick Higginbotham, Claire L. Jackson, Richard F. Heller & Jonathan W. Newbury. (2008) A checklist for comprehensive health assessment for the over 70's. Australasian Journal on Ageing 21:1, pages 14-20.
Crossref
J. Doucet, A. Jego, D. Noel, C.E. Geffroy, C. Capet, A. Coquard, E. Couffin, A.L. Fauchais, P. Chassagne, D. Mouton-Schleifer & E. Bercoff. (2002) Preventable and Non-Preventable Risk Factors for Adverse Drug Events Related to Hospital Admissions in the Elderly. Clinical Drug Investigation 22:6, pages 385-392.
Crossref
Edoardo Spina & Maria Gabriella Scordo. (2002) Clinically Significant Drug Interactions with Antidepressants in the Elderly. Drugs & Aging 19:4, pages 299-320.
Crossref
Eliana Quintero-Gallego. 2001. Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly. Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly 35 65 .
María Domínguez-Morales & Manuel Sierra. 2001. Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly. Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly 311 321 .
Jochen Kuhlmann & Wolfgang M??ck. (2001) Clinical-Pharmacological Strategies to Assess Drug Interaction Potential During Drug Development. Drug Safety 24:10, pages 715-725.
Crossref
David Nix & Keith Gallicano. 2001. Drug Interactions in Infectious Diseases. Drug Interactions in Infectious Diseases 333 351 .
Funmilayo O. Ajayi, He Sun & Julie Perry. (2013) Adverse Drug Reactions: A Review of Relevant Factors. The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 40:10, pages 1093-1101.
Crossref
Paul E. McGann. (2000) COMORBIDITY IN HEART FAILURE IN THE ELDERLY. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine 16:3, pages 631-648.
Crossref
Christopher P. Alderman. (2000) Patient-Oriented Strategies for the Prevention of Drug Interactions. Drug Safety 22:2, pages 103-109.
Crossref
L. Wehren & J. Magaziner. 2000. Management of Fractures in Severely Osteoporotic Bone. Management of Fractures in Severely Osteoporotic Bone 333 352 .
Adam G. Golden, Richard A. Preston, Scott D. Barnett, Maria Llorente, Kamal Hamdan & Michael A. Silverman. (2015) Inappropriate Medication Prescribing in Homebound Older Adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 47:8, pages 948-953.
Crossref
Katie Kompoliti & Christopher G. Goetz. (1998) NEUROPHARMACOLOGY IN THE ELDERLY. Neurologic Clinics 16:3, pages 599-610.
Crossref
J. Doucet, P. Chassagne, C. Trivalle, I. Landrin, M. D. Pauty, N. Kadri, J. F. Ménard & E. Bercoff. (2015) Drug‐Drug Interactions Related to Hospital Admissions in Older Adults: A Prospective Study of 1000 Patients. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 44:8, pages 944-948.
Crossref
Kenneth A Bachmann. (2016) Is Something Broken That Requires Fixing?. Annals of Pharmacotherapy 29:11, pages 1156-1159.
Crossref
George Demaagd. (1995) High-risk drugs in the elderly population. Geriatric Nursing 16:5, pages 198-207.
Crossref
Leif Bergendal, Arne Friberg & AnnMarie Schaffrath. (1995) Potential drug-drug interactions in 5,125 mostly elderly out-patients in Gothenburg, Sweden. Pharmacy World & Science 17:5, pages 152-157.
Crossref
Darryl S. Chutka, Jonathan M. Evans, Kevin C. Fleming & Keith G. Mikkelson. (1995) Drug Prescribing for Elderly Patients. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 70:7, pages 685-693.
Crossref
Dawn L. Hershman, Paul A. Simonoff, William H. Frishman, Francine Paston & Miriam K. Aronson. (2015) Drug Utilization in the Old Old and How it Relates to Self‐Perceived Health and All‐Cause Mortality: Results from the Bronx Aging Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 43:4, pages 356-360.
Crossref
Kristy A. Nielson & Robert A. Jensen. (1994) Beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist antihypertensive medications impair arousal-induced modulation of working memory in Elderly Humans. Behavioral and Neural Biology 62:3, pages 190-200.
Crossref
Thomas Y. K. Chan, Juliana C. N. Chan, Brian Tomlinson & Julian A. J. H. Critchley. (2006) Antibiotic prescribing patterns in a medical unit in Hong Kong. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety 3:3, pages 147-150.
Crossref
P.A. Atkin, T.P. Finnegàn, S.J. Ogle, D.M. Talmont & G.M. Shenfield. (2008) Prevalence of Drug Related Admissions to a Hospital Geriatric Service. Australian Journal on Ageing 13:1, pages 17-21.
Crossref
Jenny Livingston & Robert D Reeves. (1993) Undocumented potential drug interactions found in medical records of elderly patients in a long-term-care facility. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 93:10, pages 1168-1170.
Crossref
Colleen A. Colley & Linda M. Lucas. (1993) Polypharmacy. Journal of General Internal Medicine 8:5, pages 278-283.
Crossref
A L Melin, S Håkansson & L O Bygren. (1993) The cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation in the home: a study of Swedish elderly.. American Journal of Public Health 83:3, pages 356-362.
Crossref
Judith K. Jones. (1992) Assessing Potential Risk of Drugs: The Elusive Target. Annals of Internal Medicine 117:8, pages 691-692.
Crossref
Pierre Veyssier. (1992) Pharmacokinetics in the elderly. Geriatric Nephrology and Urology 2:3, pages 155-167.
Crossref
Rolf Dinkel, Bruno Horisberger & Kenneth W. Tolo. 1991. Improving Drug Safety — A Joint Responsibility. Improving Drug Safety — A Joint Responsibility 291 315 .

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Order Reprints Request Corporate Permissions

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

Request Academic Permissions

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.

Related research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.