Chronic Medication Use and Factors Associated With Polypharmacy Among Outpatient Pediatric Patients.
J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther
; 27(6): 537-544, 2022.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36042954
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of chronic polypharmacy among pediatric patients in an outpatient setting.METHODS:
We conducted a review of medications dispensed to patients from an outpatient pediatric facility during a 12-month period. Patients who received chronic medications (≥30 days' supply), which contained at least 1 active pharmaceutical ingredient were included in the study. Descriptive analysis was used to determine prevalence of polypharmacy while predictive factors for polypharmacy were evaluated using logistic regression.RESULTS:
Our study included 3920 patients (median age, 9.9 years; IQR, 9.4) and 16,401 medications. The median number of chronic medications used among our study cohort was 2.0 (IQR, 1) with polypharmacy identified in 309 (7.9%) patients. Predictors for polypharmacy were age and the use of certain therapeutic class of medications. Patients 12 to <19 years old (OR, 6.95; 95% CI, 4.1-10.1) were more likely to require ≥5 concurrent medications compared with patients younger than 2 years of age. Use of calcium supplements (OR, 21.2; 95% CI, 11.3-39.6), Vitamin D analogues (OR, 14.3; 95% CI, 8.0-25.8), and systemic glucocorticoids (OR, 18.8; 95% CI, 10.7-33.2) were also highly associated with polypharmacy.CONCLUSIONS:
Adolescents and children with chronic medical conditions who require prolonged systemic glucocorticoids, calcium, and Vitamin D supplements are at higher risk of incurring long-term polypharmacy. This subgroup of pediatric patients may be more vulnerable to the occurrence of negative outcomes resulting from the use of multiple chronic medications.
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Bases de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article