RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Potentially inappropriate medications in older patients based on Beers criteria: a cross-sectional study of a family medicine practice in Saudi Arabia JF BJGP Open JO BJGP Open FD Royal College of General Practitioners SP bjgpopen20X101009 DO 10.3399/bjgpopen20X101009 VO 4 IS 1 A1 Alturki, Atheer A1 Alaama, Tareef A1 Alomran, Yousef A1 Al-Jedai, Ahmed A1 Almudaiheem, Hajer A1 Watfa, Ghassan YR 2020 UL http://bjgpopen.org/content/4/1/bjgpopen20X101009.abstract AB Background The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is an important issue in older patients who are at risk of adverse drug events.Aim To determine the prevalence of PIM use, according to Beers criteria, among an older population (aged ≥65 years) in a large family medicine setting, and to identify the associated risks.Design & setting A prospective cross-sectional study of patients aged ≥65 years was conducted from June 2017 to June 2018 at the Family and Community Medicine (FCM) clinics of King Saud Medical City (KSMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Method This cross-sectional study included patients aged ≥65 years who were seen at new appointments or followed-up at the FCM clinics of KSMC in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected by extensive face-to-face interviews and from the patients’ medical records.Results A total of 270 older patients aged 72.41 ±6.23 years (mean ±standard deviation [SD]) were included in the present study. The prevalence of PIMs was 60.7% (n = 164). Multivariate analyses identified three independent variables associated with PIMs: incremental age per 5 years (odds ratio [OR] 1.47, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 1.15 to 1.88; P = 0.002), female sex (OR 1.95, 95% CI = 1.10 to 3.42; P = 0.021), and polypharmacy (OR 8.21, 95% CI = 4.58 to 14.7; P<0.001). The most common PIMs used were 39.4% related to proton pump inhibitors (PPI), 25.2% to diuretics (other than spironolactone), 10.6% to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and 8.7% to aspirin use.Conclusion This study showed high prevalence of PIMs. Increasing age, female sex, and polypharmacy were found to be significant risk factors for PIM use. The frequency of morbidities was not significantly different among patients with PIMs compared to those without PIMs, except for hypertension and osteoarthritis, which were more common in the PIMs group. The present study reinforces the importance of comprehensive medication management and reviews.