Analysis of the burden of polypharmacy and its influencing factors among elderly tuberculosis patients in Guizhou province / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE To understand the polypharmacy burden and influencing factors of elderly tuberculosis （TB） in Guizhou province， and to provide reference for reducing the polypharmacy burden of patients. METHODS From April to July 2022， 405 elderly TB outpatients were selected from three designated TB hospitals in Guiyang City， Bijie City， and Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province by convenience sampling method as investigation objects. The general situation questionnaire and the Living with Medicines Questionnaire （LMQ） were used for face-to-face survey. Descriptive analysis， one-way ANOVA and multivariate linear regression analysis were used to understand the score of polypharmacy burden of elderly TB patients and explore the factors effecting polypharmacy burden in TB patients. RESULTS The total polypharmacy burden score of 405 elderly TB patients was （112.65±14.59） points， which was higher than the threshold （110 points） for high burden standard in LMQ. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that aged 80 to 92 years， self-financed+medical insurance， retreatment， drug resistance， and adverse drug reactions were the risk factors for polypharmacy burden in elderly TB patients （P＜0.05）； living in the city， family member management， volunteer management and intelligent tool-assisted management were the protective factors （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The burden of polypharmacy in elderly TB patients from Guizhou province is heavy， and is influenced by patient’s age， residence， payment method， treatment classification， drug resistance， adverse drug reactions， and medication management. It is recommended that medical staff should provide key populations with medication guidance based on influential factor for polypharmacy burden so as to reduce their polypharmacy burden.