Polypharmacy and risk of falls and fractures for patients with HIV infection and substance dependence.

Although people with HIV infection (PLWH) are at higher risk of polypharmacy and substance use, there is limited knowledge about potential harms associated with polypharmacy such as falls and fractures in this population. The study objective was to determine whether polypharmacy, as measured by the number and type of medication, is associated with falls and fractures among PLWH and DSM-IV substance dependence in the past year or ever injection drug use (IDU). We identified the number of medications by electronic medical record review in the following categories: (i) systemically active, (ii) non-antiretroviral (non-ARV), (iii) sedating, (iv) non-sedating as well as any opioid medication and any non-opioid sedating medication.

Polypharmacy and risk of non-fatal overdose for patients with HIV infection and substance dependence.

Introduction: People living with HIV (PLWH) are at risk of both polypharmacy and unintentional overdose yet there are few data on whether polypharmacy increases risk of overdose. The study objective was to determine if the number and type of medication (e.g.