Background & Objectives: Older individuals often suffer from
multiple systemic diseases and are particularly more vulnerable to
potentially inappropriate medicine prescribing. Inappropriate medication
can cause serious medical problem for the elderly. The study was
conducted with objectives to determine the prevalence of potentially
inappropriate medicine (PIM) prescribing in older Nepalese patients in a
medicine outpatient department. Materials & Methods: A prospective
observational analysis of drugs prescribed in medicine out-patient
department (OPD) of a tertiary hospital of central Nepal was conducted
during November 2012 to October 2013 among 869 older adults aged 65
years and above. The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM)
in elderly patients was analysed using Beer’s Criteria updated to
2013. Results: In the 869 patients included, the average number of
drugs prescribed per prescription was 5.56. The most commonly used
drugs were atenolol (24.3%), amlodipine (23.16%), paracetamol (17.6%),
salbutamol (15.72%) and vitamin B complex (13.26%). The total number
of medications prescribed was 4833. At least one instance of PIM was
experienced by approximately 26.3% of patients when evaluated using
the Beers criteria. Conclusion: Potentially inappropriate medications are
highly prevalent among older patients attending medical OPD and are
associated with number of medications prescribed. Further research is
warranted to study the impact of PIMs towards health related outcomes
in these elderly.