Difficulty in managing polypharmacy in the elderly: Case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Elderly patients with multiple comorbidities are at risk of experiencing adverse drug events. We report a case of skin lesion related to drugs and discuss consequences of polypharmacy in the elderly. An 85-year-old female took the following drugs for a long time: amlodipine, valsartan, hydrochlorothiazide, lysine acetylsalicylate, sinvastatine, and trimetazidine. In June 2013, she presented thoracic pain and received propranolol, tramadol, and paracetamol. One week later, she developed a diffuse skin lesion. In our patient, drugs considered unnecessary were discontinued and corticosteroid was administered orally. Careful monitoring helped improve the outcome. Corticoids were dangerous but necessary to correct the consequence of iatrogeny.