Table 1.
Patient characteristics
| Characteristics | Patients (n = 180) |
|---|---|
| Number of females (%) | 93 (51.7) |
| Mean age [years (range)] | 73 (43–89) |
| Mean number of drugs in use (range) | 9 (5–22) |
| Number of drugs in use [number of patients (%)] | |
| 5–7 | 65 (36.1) |
| 8–10 | 64 (35.6) |
| >10 | 51 (28.3) |
| Most frequently used drug classes (ATC code) [number of patients (%)] | |
| Proton pump inhibitors (A02BC) | 122 (67.8) |
| HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) (C10AA) | 115 (63.9) |
| Β-Blocking agents, selective (C07AB) | 96 (53.3) |
| Platelet aggregation inhibitors excluding heparin (B01AC) | 81 (45.0) |
| ACE inhibitors, plain (C09AA) | 66 (36.7) |
| Angiotensin II antagonists (C09CA) | 60 (33.3) |
| Thiazides (C03AA) | 55 (30.6) |
| Dihydropyridine derivatives (C08CA) | 52 (28.9) |
| Biguanides (A10BA) | 46 (25.6) |
| Vitamin K antagonists (B01AA) | 41 (22.8) |
ATC anatomic therapeutic chemical