Polypharmacy - we make it worse! A cross-sectional study from an acute admissions unit

Although polypharmacy is a major problem in the elderly, very few data have been published from Australasia. We retrospectively audited 68% of elderly patients admitted acutely to our medical unit (n= 424, mean age 80.3 +/- 8 years) during a 30-day period (September, 2008). We found that long-term medications increased during hospital stay from 6.6 +/- 4 to 7.7 +/- 4 (P < 0.001). Adverse drug reactions were responsible for 24 admissions (5.7%). Polypharmacy is made worse by acute admission to hospital.