South Korean geriatrics on Beers Criteria medications at risk of adverse drug events

BACKGROUND: The Beers Criteria released by the American Geriatrics Society includes a list of drugs to avoid in the geriatric population and is frequently used as a safety resource in geriatric pharmacotherapy. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the exposure of South Korean geriatrics to potentially inappropriate medications according to the Beers Criteria and the risk of adverse events from these medications. METHODS: This study included medications recommended to be avoided in patients 65 years or older regardless of concomitant drug therapy or disease. The exposure of South Korean geriatrics to each of the study medications were examined using health claims data of 2011. The number of South Korean geriatrics at risk of experiencing adverse drug events from the study medications were estimated by multiplying the number of patients exposed to the medication in 2011 and the incident rate of the event obtained from literature sources. RESULTS: This study examined 166,822 geriatrics for Beers Criteria medication exposure and adverse drug event risk. The most prevalent Beers Criteria medication prescribed in South Korean geriatrics >1 day was chlorpheniramine (53.9%) and the adverse drug event with the highest number of this geriatric population at risk of was amitriptyline related dry mouth (4.9%). The proportion of South Korean geriatrics on chronic Beers Criteria medications >1 day at risk of adverse drug events from these medications was significantly higher than in US geriatrics (0.005 vs. 0.001, 2-way ANOVA post hoc pairwise t-test P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In 2011, over half of South Korean geriatrics was exposed to medications recommended to be avoided in geriatrics and their adverse drug event risk warrants close monitoring of their occurrence.