Factors influencing psychotropic prescription by non-psychiatrist physicians in a nursing home for the elderly in Brazil

Sao Paulo Medical Journal

Florindo Stella¹  Dorgival Caetano¹  Jaime Lisandro Pacheco¹  Elisandra Villela Gasparetto Sé¹  Acioly Luiz Tavares Lacerda¹ 

[1] ,Universidade Estadual PaulistaRio Claro São Paulo ,Brazil

关键词: Aging;    Homes for the aged;    Drug prescriptions;    Heart diseases;    Psychopharmacology;    Envelhecimento;    Asilos para idosos;    Prescrição de medicamentos;    Cardiopatias;    Psicofarmacologia;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S1516-31802006000500003

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Although psychotropics are one of the classes of medications most prescribed in nursing homes for the elderly, studies examining prescribing patterns are limited in both number and scope. The present study was undertaken to investigate factors associated with general psychotropic use in a nursing home in Brazil. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective observational study at the Nursing Home for the Elderly, Institute of Biosciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista. METHODS: Information on prescriptions was retrieved from the medical records of 108 elderly residents in a nursing home. Sixty-five of these patients, with mean age 74.5 years (± standard deviation 9.4 years), who were taking medications on a regular basis, comprised the sample. The effects of demographic and clinical variables on the psychotropic prescription pattern were examined. RESULTS: Females were more likely to receive psychotropics (p = 0.038). Individuals on medicines for cardiovascular diseases received psychotropics less frequently (p = 0.001). The number of prescribed psychotropics correlated negatively with both age (p = 0.009) and number of non-psychotropic drugs (p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Although preliminary, the present results indicated that cardiovascular disease was the clinical variable that most influenced psychotropic prescription. Physicians' overconcern regarding drug interactions might at least partially explain this result. Further investigations involving larger sample sizes from different regions are warranted to confirm these findings.

【 授权许可】

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