Inappropriate prescribing in elderly outpatients taking multiple medications. Are the STOPP criteria useful?

Objective To assess potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in elderly outpatients taking multiple medications. Methods Invoicing data of the prescriptions and electronic medical records were used to apply the STOPP (screening tool of older people's prescriptions) criteria. Results Three out of 4 patients included in the study received PIMs. The most common criteria found were: duplicate drug class prescriptions (n = 58 (17.4%)), long-term long-acting benzodiazepines (n = 54 (16.2%)), and acetylsalicylic acid with no history of coronary, cerebral, or peripheral vascular symptoms or occlusive event (n = 32 (9.6%)). Conclusion Our results highlight the relevance of the systematic review of the pharmacological treatments in these patients.