HealthDay - 3 Common Drugs Trigger Most ER Visits by Seniors
Side effects from just three drugs are responsible for a full third of all U.S. emergency room visits by senior citizens who had adverse reactions to medications, a new study found.
In 2004 and 2005, the blood thinner warfarin, the diabetes drug insulin and the heart drug digoxin caused about 58,000 emergency room visits a year in those 65 and older, the researchers found.
The major problem is that it’s hard to determine the correct dose for each drug, said study lead author Dr. Daniel Budnitz, a medical officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It’s challenging,” he said, “and it takes work between the patient and physician to get the dose just right.”
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Budnitz and his colleagues undertook the study to determine the danger posed to senor citizens by a long list of drugs that have been deemed “potentially inappropriate” …
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