Polypharmacy
The use of concomitant medications is justified in the treatment
of multiple chronic diseases. Polypharmacy is a term
which describes patients who receive multiple medications,
and in the elderly, this represents the rule rather than the
exception.16,17
According to data from population studies in the United
States, 90% of the elderly consume at least a weekly medication,
over 55% of women and 44% of men of advanced age
consume five medications or more, and 40% of residents in
nursing homes consume over eight weekly medications.4,5,16
With this practice the risk of AMR increases drastically,
because on many occasions, there are duplicates of the
same kind of medication, and the adverse effects are not
identified, leading to a prescription cascade.23-25,28
Adverse reactions may be difficult to detect in elderly patients
because they frequently have atypical presentations,
like lethargy, confusion, falls, constipation and depression.