Patterns of prescription and inappropriate medications use in elderly patients of Makkah community in Saudi Arabia

Polypharmacy and the prescription of inappropriate medications are common in elderly patients due to the high rate of morbidity in this population. However, this information is scarce about patients in this age group in Saudi Arabia. In general, this study was conducted to investigate the drug prescriptions in elderly patients in Makkah city of Saudi Arabia. This topic threw light mainly on the pattern of drug utilization and the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications in this population of patients. Data of drugs utilization in elderly patients was collected from King Abdul-Aziz hospital in Makkah city, Saudi Arabia during January and February of 2018. The 2019 updated Beers criteria were applied to identify the potentially inappropriate medications use in these patients. A total of 1256 prescriptions were found to be given to 129 elderly patients, with a 9.7 as the average number of drugs prescribed per elderly patient. Polypharmacy in this age group was very common reaching about 90% of patients. The most commonly prescribed drug was omeprazole followed by aspirin. Around 18% of drug prescriptions were considered to be inappropriate according to the 2019 updated Beers criteria. Omeprazole and aspirin were also the inappropriate drug with the highest rate of prescription. Based on the 2019 updated Beers criteria, inappropriate medications use and polypharmacy are prevalent in elderly patients in Makkah city of Saudi Arabia. More attention should be taken by health care providers as some of the commonly prescribed drugs in elderly patients are considered to be inappropriate.    Key words: Potentially inappropriate medications, drug prescribing, polypharmacy, elderly, geriatrics, Beers.