Dr. Aviv Ouanounou: How important is polypharmacy in the elderly population?

Dr. Aviv Ouanounou discusses the topic of polypharmacy including the causes and ways to reduce this phenomenon in the video below.

Video Highlights

Polypharmacy is fairly common in the elderly, affecting approximately 1 in 3 elders and is one of the leading causes of death in North American geriatric patients. The term polypharmacy refers to patients who take more than 9 medications than are clinically warranted.

As patients take more medications, they incur a corresponding cost increase, a higher probability of prescription errors given the multiple medications, as well as an increased incidence of drug interactions and adverse drug reactions.

Polypharmacy can lead to some of the following side-effects:

• Xerostomia                 
• Burning mouth                       
• Dysguesia
• Sialorhea                    
• Salivary gland swelling          
• Gingival hyperplasia
• Ulcers                        
• Erythema multiforme             
• Lichenoid reactions, pemphigus-like lesions
• Hyperpigmentation

Watch the video