<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><bold>Introduction.</bold> Commonly prescribed medications are associated with various gastrointestinal (GI) side effects but few data are available on prescription medication use and polypharmacy in a gastroenterology outpatient practice. We aimed to examine the prevalence of polypharmacy, defined as the simultaneous use of 5 or more medications.<bold>Methods.</bold> A descriptive correlational study of consecutive outpatient consultations in 988 patients referred to a tertiary gastroenterology practice. Main outcome measurements were frequency of prescription medication use and polypharmacy.<bold>Results.</bold> The most common GI symptoms were abdominal pain (72%), nausea (57%), and constipation (53%). The frequency of polypharmacy was 10%. Eighty percent of patients took at least one medication and 60% took two or more. The most frequently used medication classes were proton pump inhibitors (43%), followed by benzodiazepines (30%), selective serotonin-reuptake or norepinephrine-reuptake inhibitors (28%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (27%), and opioids (21%).<bold>Conclusion.</bold> There was a higher use of prescription medicine including antidepressants, and a lower frequency of polypharmacy in our study cohort compared to the general population. The use of medications may have contributed to the symptoms leading to our study’s population GI consultation.</abstract>

Introduction. Commonly prescribed medications are associated with various gastrointestinal (GI) side effects but few data are available on prescription medication use and polypharmacy in a gastroenterology outpatient practice. We aimed to examine the prevalence of polypharmacy, defined as the simultaneous use of 5 or more medications.Methods. A descriptive correlational study of consecutive outpatient consultations in 988 patients referred to a tertiary gastroenterology practice. Main outcome measurements were frequency of prescription medication use and polypharmacy.Results. The most common GI symptoms were abdominal pain (72%), nausea (57%), and constipation (53%). The frequency of polypharmacy was 10%. Eighty percent of patients took at least one medication and 60% took two or more. The most frequently used medication classes were proton pump inhibitors (43%), followed by benzodiazepines (30%), selective serotonin-reuptake or norepinephrine-reuptake inhibitors (28%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (27%), and opioids (21%).Conclusion. There was a higher use of prescription medicine including antidepressants, and a lower frequency of polypharmacy in our study cohort compared to the general population. The use of medications may have contributed to the symptoms leading to our study’s population GI consultation.

Medication use and polypharmacy in patients referred to a tertiary gastroenterology practice

Romanian Journal of Internal Medicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Introduction. Commonly prescribed medications are associated with various gastrointestinal (GI) side effects but few data are available on prescription...

Medication use and polypharmacy in patients referred to a tertiary gastroenterology practice

Data publikacji: 17 gru 2020

Zakres stron: 228 - 232

Otrzymano: 20 maj 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjim-2020-0016

Słowa kluczowe
adverse effects, gastrointestinal, polypharmacy, prescription medicine

© 2020 Abimbola Chris-Olaiya et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Medication use and polypharmacy in patients referred to a tertiary gastroenterology practice

Data publikacji: 17 gru 2020

Zakres stron: 228 - 232

Otrzymano: 20 maj 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjim-2020-0016

Słowa kluczoweadverse effects, gastrointestinal, polypharmacy, prescription medicine

© 2020 Abimbola Chris-Olaiya et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Słowa kluczowe
adverse effects, gastrointestinal, polypharmacy, prescription medicine