AZEVEDO, Iana Raissa Macedo de.
Resumo:
The elderly constitute the population who use drugs, due to the higher prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases in this age group. As a result, the aging process is accompanied by an increased demand for health services and drugs, which greatly predispose the elderly population to the risks of practice of polypharmacy and adverse effects of medications. Because of the abundance and variety of literature on that topic, it makes it necessary to compile the information into a single job, to serve as a reference for future research, which indicates the production of an overhaul. This study aimed to review the literature regarding the use of medications in the elderly. The 52 items used were selected from the Lilacs database where information was collected on the type of study, population and sample, study methods employed, place of study, year of publication and quality of work as measured by WebQualis. This information was organized into tables and analyzed in analytical categories. The results were divided into five groups: elderly treated in primary care, in home elderly, institutionalized elderly, hospitalized elderly users and pharmacies. Highlights the high prevalence of drug use, with significant occurrence of polypharmacy; predominance of female users; extensive use of antihypertensive drugs, widely prescribed psychotropic drugs, clinically significant drug interactions; potentially inappropriate medications for the elderly were quite frequent. The use of medication in the elderly assumes increasingly undeniable importance as a therapeutic strategy to compensate for the changes done with the aging process and aims to control rather frequent chronic diseases in old age, however, it is considered necessary systematic monitoring of the elderly use multiple medications to avoid potential problems arising from his employment.