Prevalence of Polypharmacy and Inappropriate Prescribing in Elderly Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases in Qatar

Abstract

Background: Polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) are global issues that are associated with morbidity and mortality, especially in the elderly. Polypharmacy and PIP are highly prevalent in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, there is no data about the magnitude of the problem among patients with CVDs in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Objectives: To conduct a systematic review on the prevalence of polypharmacy in the MENA region. Methodology: Key databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library were systematically searched for studies reporting the prevalence of polypharmacy among the elderly in the MENA region. Two reviewers assessed the eligibility and the quality of the studies independently. Thereafter data were extracted and synthesized using a narrative approach. Results: The prevalence of polypharmacy ranged from 17.2% to 88.6% among the elderly in the MENA region. Conclusion:This paper shows that polypharmacy and PIP are MENA region, emphasizing major issues in the the need for further research on the feasibility of interventions that minimize PIP , especially among elderly patients with CVDs and an increasing number of medications. policies that target the Future research may investigate methods and doctors and the pharmacist to increase their familiarity with the use of evidence-based tools for the identification and minimization of PIP.