Unique aspects of antimicrobial use in older adults

被引:68
作者
Faulkner, CM [1 ]
Cox, HL [1 ]
Williamson, JC [1 ]
机构
[1] Wake Forest Univ, Baptist Med Ctr, Dept Pharm, Winston Salem, NC 27157 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1086/428125
中图分类号
R392 [医学免疫学]; Q939.91 [免疫学];
学科分类号
100102 ;
摘要
Elderly persons consume a significant proportion of health care resources. Antimicrobials are just one class among many pharmaceuticals that are prescribed more frequently to elderly patients than to younger patients. There are unique aspects of antimicrobial use in elderly persons that make prescribing complicated and monitoring unpredictable. Physiologic changes associated with aging result in altered pharmacokinetics, and accurate estimates of renal function cannot be made with standard methods. Together, these qualities make antimicrobial dosing difficult. Because of a higher prevalence of other chronic diseases, there is a greater propensity for polypharmacy and a resulting risk of an adverse event or a significant drug interaction. Lastly, irrespective of altered pharmacokinetics, adverse effects of many antimicrobials are more common in elderly persons, which introduces an added dimension to ensuring safety with antimicrobial therapy.
引用
收藏
页码:997 / 1004
页数:8
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