ArticleBMC geriatrics2021
Polypharmacy and severe potential drug-drug interactions among older adults with cardiovascular disease in the United States.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 101 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cardiovascular risk associated with polypharmacy in heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.ESC heart failure · 2026Pooled it
- The current status and influencing factors of medication literacy among patients with cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Pharmacist Interventions in Improving Medication Use in Hospitalised Older Patients Diagnosed With Cardiovascular Diseases: INFAR Before-and-After Study.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2025Trial
- Impact of medication nonadherence and drug-drug interaction testing on the management of primary care patients with polypharmacy: a randomized controlled trial.BMC medicine · 2024Trial
- Resiliency among older adults receiving lung cancer treatment (ROAR-LCT): A novel supportive care intervention for older adults with advanced lung cancer.Journal of geriatric oncology · 2024Trial
- Randomized prospective trial to detect and distinguish between medication nonadherence, drug-drug interactions, and disease progression in chronic cardiometabolic disease.BMC primary care · 2023Trial
- Appropriateness over Numbers: Pharmacological Burden and Scalable Medication Review in Older Adults.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Development and Validation of an XGBoost-SHAP Model for Predicting Adverse Outcomes in Elderly Cardiovascular Patients With Polypharmacy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Article
- Prognostic effect of polypharmacy in ambulatory patients with heart failure: a machine learning-based analysis.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Article
- Impact of Elevated Blood Pressure on Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Outcomes in Older Adults: A Propensity-Matched Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Impact of Heart Disease and Multimorbidity on Oral Frailty in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults.Circulation reports · 2026Article
- Brexpiprazole for the Treatment of Agitation Associated with Dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease: Clinical Perspectives.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- From ancient herb to modern miracle: an in-depth analysis of the cardioprotective effects of artemisinin and its derivatives.Journal of geriatric cardiology : JGC · 2026Article
- Polypharmacy and Drug-Drug Interaction Architecture in Hospitalized Cardiovascular Patients: Insights from Real-World Analysis.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Obesity and Pharmacokinetic Variability: Implications for Cardiovascular Therapeutics.European cardiology · 2026Review
- Prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use and its association with hospitalization among older adults with chronic disease in the Amhara region, Ethiopia: a multicenter prospective cohort study.Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2026Article
- Patterns and determinants of drug-drug interactions among community-dwelling older adults in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Beyond Pain Relief: A Cross-Sectional Study on NSAID Prescribing, Polypharmacy, and Drug Interaction Risks in Community Pharmacies.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Review
- Medication use in elderly patients with hypertension: a cross-sectional study at a medical center in Vietnam, 2024-2025.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPolypharmacy continues to be a topic of concern among older adults and puts patients at increased risk of potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and negative health outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy among older adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to identify severe potential DDIs.
methodsA retrospective chart review was conducted in a tertiary care center over a three-month period where we reviewed home medications of older adults upon hospital admission. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 65 years, history of CVD, and admission to the cardiology service. Polypharmacy was defined as 5 or more medications taken concomitantly, hyper-polypharmacy was defined as 10 or more medications taken concomitantly, and severe potential DDIs were considered to be those belonging to category D or X using Lexicomp® Drug Information Handbook. Category D interaction states that modification of therapy should be considered while category X states that the combination should be absolutely avoided.
resultsA total of 404 patients with a mean age of 76.6 ± 7.4 years were included. Patients were taking an average of 11.6 ± 4.5 medications at home and 385 (95%) received polypharmacy, 278 (69%) received hyper-polypharmacy, and 313 (77.5%) had at least one severe potential DDI. Under category D, the most common potential DDIs were drugs with additive central nervous system (CNS) depressant effect and drugs that increase the risk of QT prolongation. Under category X, the most common potential DDIs were non-selective β-blockers that may diminish the bronchodilator effect of β
conclusionsPolypharmacy, hyper-polypharmacy, and severe potential DDIs are very common in older adults with CVD. Clinicians should vigilantly review patients' drug records and adjust therapy accordingly to prevent adverse drug reactions and negative health outcomes.
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Registered trials
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