Pharmacotherapy assessment and adverse drug reactions in older patients admitted to intensive care.

Introduction: Older patients are more susceptible to medication use, and physiological changes resulting from aging and organic dysfunctions presented by critically ill patients may alter the pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic behavior. Thus, critically ill older people present greater vulnerability to the occurrence of pharmacotherapeutic problems.

Objective: To evaluate pharmacotherapy and the development of potential adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in older patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).