Trends in Drug Duplications in Swedish Older Adults: A Nationwide Register Study from 2006 to 2021.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Drug duplication (DD), the use of two identical drugs simultaneously, is a medication error increasing the risk of adverse drug events. We describe the trends and implicated drugs in potential DD in older adults in Sweden from 2006 to 2021.

Methods

We conducted a register-based, repeated cross-sectional study of all older adults (aged ≥65 years) dispensed drugs at a community pharmacy in 2006-2021. DD was defined as a ≥30-day overlap of two dispensations of drugs with the same 5th level (chemical substance) Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification, but with different brand names, within a 3-month period each year.

Results

Among Swedish older adults with ordinary prescriptions (i.e. multidose excluded; n ≈ 1,200,000-1,600,000 per year), the preva

SUBMITTER: Erhan T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11408397 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature