Potentially inappropriate psychotropic drugs: Drug utilization study in the elderly in Uruguay during 2019.

Abstract

Psychotropic drugs are widely used by older adults and may be potentially inappropriate. Drug utilization studies describe the prescription, distribution and various patterns of drug use.

The objective was to investigate the prevalence of the use of potentially inappropriate psychotropic drugs in elderly users of two private health institutions in Montevideo during 2019.

A study was carried out based on the outpatient dispensing of potentially inappropriate psychotropic drugs to patients aged 65 or over in the Asociación Española Primera en Socorros Mutuos (AEPSM) and Centro de Asistencia del Sindicato Médico del Uruguay - Institución de Asistencia Médica Privada de Profesionales (CASMU - IAMPP). in the period between January 1 and December 31, 2019.

Consumption of benzodiazepines (BZD), Z drugs (FZ) and atypical antipsychotics (AA) were studied. The population variable Dose Inhabitant Day (DHD) was used.

It was included 50316 older adults from the CASMU IAMPP and 49843 from the AEPSM. Of them, 55.1% in CASMU and 56.1% in AEPSM were 75 years of age or older. Among the groups of Potentially Inappropriate Psychotropic Drugs (PPI) studied, the most dispensed were the BZD: CASMU DHD = 193.48; AEPSM DHD = 154.45, followed by FZ; CASMU DHD = 61.83; AEPSM DHD = 64.40, and AA: CASMU DHD = 13.62; AEPSM DHD = 17.89.

A high use of BZD, FZ and AA was evidenced in AM of both institutions during the period studied. Local data on the use of potentially inappropriate psychotropic drugs for AM are provided.