Table 3.
Effects of hospitalization on the number of prescribed drugs in the whole population studied and in the most frequent disease groups
| Number of drugs Median (interquartile range) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before admission | At discharge | Z | p | |
| All patients (n = 2456) | 3.0 (2.0–5.0) | 4.0 (3.0–6.0) | −20.6 | <0.001 |
| CHF (n = 398) | 5.0 (3.0–6.0) | 6.0 (5.0–8.0) | −10.8 | <0.001 |
| NIDDM (N = 480) | 4.0 (2.0–6.0) | 5.5 (4.0–7.0) | −10.4 | <0.001 |
| COPD (N = 285) | 4.0 (2.0–5.0) | 5.0 (4.0–7.0) | −8.8 | <0.001 |
| CRF (N = 169) | 5.0 (3.0–6.5) | 6.0 (4.0–8.0) | −5.9 | <0.001 |
Abbreviations: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CHF, congestive heart failure; CRF, chronic renal failure; NIDDM, noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus.