Four Common Meds Send Thousands of Seniors to Hospital

A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that around 100,000 senior citizens are hospitalized due to adverse drug reactions. The study proved that there are four common medications that are the leading factor in the hospitalizations. Antiplatelet drugs, insulin, oral hypoglycemic agents and blood thinning medication, warfarin, are the four most commonly cited medications in the study.

"This study highlights a few key issues that are important for doctors and patients to be aware of," said Dr. Michael Steinman, an associate professor of medicine in the division of geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. "The first is that serious adverse reactions to drugs are common among older people, particularly among people over 80. But even those 65 and older are at substantial risk of having an adverse effect from their drugs."

Read more at: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/treatments/story/2011-11-25/Four-common-meds-send-thousands-of-seniors-to-hospital/51397208/1

Source: USA Today