Virginia Geriatrics: Medications to Avoid in the Elderly

Geriatric Quick Consult Medications to Avoid in the Elderly Do #3

Assess whether your patient may already be suffering from an adverse drug effect before adding more drugs

Knowledge

Action

Before deciding to treat an elderly patient's symptoms with a medication, it is important to ascertain whether the symptom is possibly related to another medication the patient is taking.

For example, patients on multiple medications often experience dizziness, and are then prescribed meclizine (Antivert®, Bonine®).

Adding more medications may actually worsen the patient's overall functioning.

A better alternative might be to discontinue a medication that may be causing dizziness.

The same is true of many other common non-specific symptoms, including nausea, constipation, or anxiety, which are often due to medication side effects.

Ascertain whether patient's symptom may be caused by another medication.

Try discontinuing a medication that can cause patient's symptom.

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Geriatric Quick Consult Medications to Avoid in the Elderly Do #3 Assess whether your patient may already be suffering from an adverse drug effect before adding more drugs

Geriatric Quick Consult Medications to Avoid in the Elderly Do #3

Assess whether your patient may already be suffering from an adverse drug effect before adding more drugs