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OBJECTIVE: To analyse the occurrence of potential high-risk drug-drug interactions in elderly individuals with dementia. METHODS: The sample was chosen from a geriatric outpatient clinic of the Multidisciplinary Center for the Elderly in the University Hospital of Brasília. This cross-sectional study included patients aged 60 or older with a diagnosis of dementia. The prescriptions were analyzed using the Lexi-Interact® database to identify possible potential drug-drug interactions. RESULTS: The study included 97 participants. Sixty-one patients (62.9%) had at least one clinically important potential drug-drug interactions (risks C and D). Of the 264 interactions identified, 23 (8.7%) were classified as risk D, 14 were pharmacodynamics and nine pharmacokinetic. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest an increased frequency in the occurrence of clinically significant potential drug-drug interactions in dementia patients. This reinforces the need for drug-drug interaction studies in specific populations.

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify barriers to adherence to home oral maintenance chemotherapy in children with leukemia treated at a specialized cancer center. Methods: We used the Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ) as a tool for screening barriers to adherence. The level of adherence was calculated considering at least one positive response in each BMQ domain, defined as Regimen Screen, Belief Screen, and Recall Screen. A positive screening for belief barriers (PSB) indicates that the caregiver reports not understanding the medication's mechanism of action and adverse effects. Results: Three important barriers to adherence were identified: beliefs, number of children of the caregiver, and age of the caregiver. The primary caregivers included 32 mothers (80%), four fathers (10%), three grandmothers (7.5%), and one unrelated caregiver (2.5 %). Most caregivers with a PSB were mothers. A PSB indicates that the caregiver reports not understanding the medication's mechanism of action and adverse effects. Caregivers with two or more children (median, three) had more barriers to adherence. Caregivers with potential non-adherence tended to be older than those with potential adherence, although without statistical significance (p=0.079, Mann-Whitney U test). Conclusions: The main barriers to adherence to home oral maintenance chemotherapy in children with leukemia identified through interviews with their caregivers, most often mothers, were lack of understanding of the treatment regimen, a greater number of children, and older age.