Consumption of psychoactive drugs in elderly patients of a clinic in Venezuela

Abstract

A descriptive cross-sectional research was conducted in the office of Urama San Pablo, in the first half of2012, inorder to analyze the consumption of psychotropic drugs in elderly patients. The sample consisted of 80 patients of 150 geriatric patients. The variables studied were: age, sex, medical reasons and reasons of limitation. The main results showed that women who were more consumed these drugs, the elderly more consumers are in the age group of 60-64 years, with the diazepam, the most used; in terms of prescribing, men still further medical indications, which did not behave well in females. Indications were: anxiety and insomnia. As a conclusion, the prescription of psychotropic drugs in the elderly is a routine clinical practice that deserves attention.