Use of potentially inappropriate medications in hospitalized elderly at a teaching hospital: A comparison between Beers 2003 and 2012 criteria

OBJECTIVES: To detect the prevalence and pattern of use of Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in hospitalized elderly patients of a tertiary care teaching hospital using Beers 2012 criteria and to compare the same with Beers 2003 criteria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prescriptions of the elderly patients aged 65 years and above were collected from the medicine ward and analyzed. PIMs were identified with help of Beers 2003 and Beers 2012 criteria and comparison was made between the two criteria. Predictors associated with use of PIM were identified using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 210 patients received 2,267 drugs. According to Beers 2003 criteria, 60 (28.57%) elderly patients received at least one PIM and 2.9% drugs were prescribed inappropriately. According to Beers 2012 criteria, 84 (40%) elderly received at least one PIM while 22 (10.47%) received multiple PIMs and about 5% drugs were prescribed inappropriately. The most commonly prescribed PIM was mineral oil-liquid paraffin (30, 14.3%) followed by spironolactone (25, 11.9%), digoxin (19, 9%), and benzodiazepines (14, 6.7%). There was a significant association between the number of patients receiving more than six drugs and the use of PIMs (P < 0.01). Use of more than 10 drugs was a significant predictor for use of PIMs in the elderly. CONCLUSION: The study shows high prevalence of prescribing PIMs in hospitalized elderly patients. Beers 2012 criteria are more effective in identifying PIMs than Beers 2003 criteria.