Question

1. Identify the main age-related physiologic, pathophysiologic, and pharmacologic factors that influence how older adults respond differently to drugs and state how those differences could (or likely would) affect drug responses.

2. Identify the most important factors that predispose older patients to adverse drug reactions.

3. Describe common reasons for noncompliance and nonadherence that are particularly relevant to older adults and list some approaches for minimizing those problems and improving compliance.

Answer 1

1) The older adults generally have many disease and they intake many drugs and other treatments for the health and in this way we can see the physiological, pathophysiologic and pharmacologic changes in the elderly adults , to drug to act in the body it has to undergo absorption, transportation, distribution and metabolizing and excretion, these overall process is effected by the changes occuring in the elderly adults,absorption in the elderly there is reduced hcl production and reduced gastrointestinal emptying and mobility, and reduced compliance in the lungs and reduced vasculature and increased dryness in the mouth and etc will effect the absorption of the drug and then comes the distribution there are age realted changes they are body composition and decreased body water and decreased lean muscle mass and increase fat tissue and decrease in the body fluids etc effects the distribution of the drug , and then metabolizing of drug mostly the metabolizing mostly takes place in liver and due age related factors the hepatic blood flow is decreased and enzymes etc this effect the metabolizing of the drug , excretion it is also affected because of the age related changes on the kidney and the pharmacodynamics in the older adults is also altered and so there is also altered drug response , the factors which resulted in the olderadults are change in the hemostatics and there is also change in the receptor number and affinity. 2)Adverse drug reactions in the elderly patient:the elderly patient is effected by many adverse drug reactions such as hypersensitivity and hepatotoxicity,delayed reactions etc, the predisposing factors are patient is many drug intake and multiple disease, and nature of the nature which are highly toxic , and gender, and genetic factors etc. 3)Common reasons for nonadherence in the older adults are cost of the drug and drug side effects(severe), more drugs and its administration and lack of understanding of drug etc noncompliance it is the patient who does not take the prescribed medication and inadequate incomes to buy the prescribed drugs and increase in number of drugs.to minimize these issues in the elderly patient is the many drug is decreased , and the confusion of taking the drug is reduced by using packages using the color and symbols to show them the time of the dose and medication synchronization and giving the drug on appointment to reduced the elderly patient to take several trips to the pharmacy. etc