Irrational use of medications among elderly patients in an Ethiopian referral hospital

Geriatric is potentially vulnerable to drug related problems. Inappropriate prescribing to these patient groups causes substantial morbidity and has become an important public health issue.  The purpose of this study was to evaluate prescription practice in geriatrics patients attending medical ward of Dessie Referral Hospital (DRH). A cross sectional study design was used to collect data from patient cards aged more than or equal to 65 years old that visited DRH in south wollo zone over the last one year period from September 11/09/2014 to September 10/09/2015. Assessment of the prescription pattern was done by using Beers criteria and WHO core indicators. A total of 244 charts were evaluated. 868 drugs were prescribed to the study population. Number of encounters with antibiotic prescription was 155 (63.5%). The percentage of encounters in which an injection was prescribed was 82.4%. Analysis of the prescribed medications using the 2012 Updated Beers Criteria showed 56 patients with at least one potentially inappropriate medication prescribed giving a prevalence of 23%. The study indicates the prescribing practices in the hospital associated with greater poly-pharmacy and inappropriate medication use. Key words: Elderly, Dessie referral hospital, beers criteria, WHO core indicators.