Evaluation of Drug Related Problems Among the Geriatric Inpatients of Psychiatry Department: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Drug related problems (DRPs) are common and geriatric patients living with psychiatric disorders are at a greater risk of DRPs due to many factors including polypharmacy which contributes to drug-drug interactions and alterations in pharmacokinetics that occur with age. The present study aims to identify and assess the different drug-related problems among geriatric inpatients of the psychiatry department using the APS-DoC classification system. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted over 6 months among the geriatric inpatients, aged 60 years and above, in the psychiatric department. All the deteils pertaining to the patients were collected from their case files in the Medical Records Department at the study site. The data was sampled from a two year period between January 2017 to December 2019. Data analysis was carried out using a statistical analysis package for social sciences (SPSS) 26.0. Results: Out of 180 patients enrolled in the study, 149 (82.77%) were identified to be present with a total of 236 DRPs. Using the APS-Doc classification system, it was found that the most frequent DRP was potential drug-drug interaction, 121 (51.27%), followed by Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), 63 (26.69%). Quetiapine and Risperidone were found to be the drugs causing a majority of the DRPs, followed by clonazepam. Presence of co-morbidities (p=0.001) was found to have statistically significant association with the occurrence of DRPs. Conclusion: Clinical pharmacists play a crucial role in the timely identification of DRPs and further help other members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team to address the issue and prevent its future occurrence.