Overview

Name: Drug interactions

Description: Avoiding the pitfalls of "polypharmacy"

Creator: Arrowsmith

This casebook is published and has been read 163 times.

The author of this casebook has identified the following medical topics as being highly relevant to this casebook.

• nutrient drug interaction -- The pharmacological result, either desirable or undesirable, of drugs interacting with components of the diet. (From Stedman, 25th ed)
  
  
• Adverse effects -- Problems that occur when treatment affects tissues or organs other than the ones meant to be affected by the treatment. Common side effects of cancer treatment are fatigue, pain, nausea, vomiting, decreased blood cell counts, hair loss, and mouth sores.
  
  

Notes

From Wikipedia:

The term polypharmacy generally refers to the use of multiple medications by a patient. The term is used when too many forms of medication are used by a patient, when more drugs are prescribed than is clinically warranted,^[1] or even when all prescribed medications are clinically indicated but there are too many pills to take (pill burden). Furthermore, a portion of the treatments may not be evidence-based. The most common results of polypharmacy are increased adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions and higher costs.^[2] Polypharmacy is most common in the elderly but is also widespread in the general population.^[3]

 

Bookmarks The following information, which has been distilled by the casebook author from this and other websites is particularly relevant to this casebook.