Medicamentos inapropiados en geriatría. Benzodiazepinas de acción prolongada

Objective: To study the prescription of long-lasting action benzodiazepines in geriatric patients belonging to both ambulatory and hospital environments from the Granollers area. These drugs are considered by many authors as inappropriate for geriatric patients. Methodology: Descriptive study. Overall drug prescription has been studied based upon the prescriptions billed by the Catalan Health Service and based upon the databases from the drugs distribution system at the General Hospital from Granollers. The technical unit of measurement used was the daily defined dose (DDD). The studied period has been between the months of March and May of the year 2000. Results: The dispensation of long-lasting action benzodiazepines has been of 25.2% and 17.4% of the total dispensed benzodiazepines in the ambulatory and hospital environments respectively. The benzodiazepines with the highest impact on the prescription have been diazepam and dipotassium clorazepate. Conclusions: It has been observed a high prevalence of inappropriate drug prescriptions in geriatric patients. It is necessary to implement interventions that decrease the prescription of these drugs with the purpose of avoiding the risks of adverse reactions that these drugs suppose