[Evaluation of pharmacotherapy prescribed to institutionalized elderly].

Cross-sectional study, quantitative, descriptive and exploratory research, which aimed to evaluate the profile and quality of pharmacotherapy prescribed to elderly residents in long-stay institutions located in Londrina-PR. The population consisted of 203 elderly patients with predominantly female, mean aged 76.4 years. It was found that 97.0% of the population used one drug. One hundred and fifty one different active ingredients were prescribed, with an average of 5.3 per elderly. From all of the individuals surveyed, 59.9% were subjected to polypharmacy. It was identified 359 possible drug interactions, and 58.1% of the elderly were exposed to these events. It was found that was prescribed at least one drug of improper category to 58.1% of the elderly who were using drugs.