Adverse Drug Events in Older Adults

The Beers criteria are a consensus-based list of more than 40 medications or medication categories that are ineffective, unnecessarily risky, or potentially inappropriate for use in adults aged 65 and older (e.g., diphenhydramine, diazepam, and indomethacin). Researchers used data from national ambulatory databases and an adverse drug event surveillance system to estimate rates of emergency department (ED) visits for adverse drug events that were attributed by a treating physician not only to Beers criteria medications, but also to other medications.

An estimated 177,500 ED visits for adverse drug events by patients aged 65 and older occurred annually in 2004 and 2005. Only 9% of events involved Beers criteria medications; the other 91% invo…