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Geriatrics can get very complicated very fast. Chronic conditions, polypharmacy, and drug interactions are a few of the many complications. Here are a few things that make me think twice in geriatric patients. Multiple Medication Changes As I reveiw a patient’s medication list, I review recent changes that have been made. The more changes that […]
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Benzodiazepines or “benzos” are a class of psychoactive drugs that are used to treat insomnia and anxiety. While we want to discuss the differences amongst these agents, we must remember that when comparing oral benzodiazepines, it is critical to remember that dosing matters! A dose of clonazepam 0.125 mg is likely going to be way […]
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Here’s a case scenario where the duloxetine risperidone interaction likely contributed to an emergency department visit. A 78-year-old male with dementia, depression, anxiety, neuropathy, osteoarthritis, and behavioral symptoms associated with dementia was having increased hallucinations and physical aggression. Non-pharmacologic interventions had been tried and continue to be utilized as best as possible. The behaviors and […]
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The Beers Criteria was updated in 2019. Of the numerous updates, I wanted to pull out my top 5 clinically relevant Beers Criteria updates. It is important to note that there were many more updates, but I wanted to share some of the most clinically important updates. Discussed in the video are Beers Criteria updates […]
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In geriatrics, deprescribing has become a very popular term. Deprescribing is simply reducing a patient’s medication burden by reducing and discontinuing medications. This is often done as the potential long term benefits of medication dwindle as a patient’s life expectancy goes down. My favorite deprescribing resource is a list of algorithms that really allows you […]
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