Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics
| Characteristics | Total (N = 103) |
|---|---|
| Women, no. (%) | 54 (52.4) |
| Age, mean ± SD, years | 77.3 ± 10.3 |
| Living arrangements, n = 68 | |
| Living at home (%) | 64 (62.1) |
| Nursing home (%) | 4 (3.9) |
| Number of ongoing medications at admission, mean ± SD | 7.9 ± 3.6 |
| Multidose drug dispensing (%), n = 78 | 11 (10.7) |
| OTCa (%), n = 75 | 36 (35.0) |
| Herbal remediesb (%), n = 72 | 5 (4.9) |
| Estimated GFR | |
| CKD-EPI, mean ± SD, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 65.1 ± 25.1 |
| Cockcroft-Gault, mean ± SD, mL/min, n = 88 | 66.1 ± 34.9 |
| CKD-EPI < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 (%) | 42 (40.8) |
| Laboratory values | |
| Hb, mean ± SD, g/L, n = 99 | 122.8 ± 23.0 |
| S-potassium, mean ± SD, mmol/L, n = 98 | 4.0 ± 0.6 |
| S-sodium, mean ± SD, mmol/L, n = 100 | 138 ± 25.1 |
| Medical history, n (%) | |
| Hypertension | 52 (50.5) |
| Arrhythmias | 26 (25.2) |
| Heart failure | 22 (21.4) |
| Cancer | 22 (21.4) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 18 (17.5) |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 17 (16.5) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 15 (14.6) |
| Stroke/TIA | 10 (9.7) |
| Depression | 3 (2.9) |
| Drug classes, n (%) | |
| Cardiovascular drugs | 99 (96.1) |
| Anticoagulants | 69 (67.0) |
| Vitamins and minerals | 47 (45.6) |
| Analgesic drugs | 39 (37.9) |
| Psychotropic drugs | 28 (27.2) |
| Drugs for obstructive pulmonary disease | 22 (21.4) |
| Anti-diabetic drugs | 21 (20.4) |
| Urogenital drugs | 8 (7.8) |
| Antiepileptic drugs | 2 (1.9) |
All data about the patients were collected from the medical records at the time the patients were admitted to the hospital
a OTC drugs were, for example, paracetamol, NSAID and vitamins in the study
b Herbal remedies included ginseng, omega 3 and dried nettles
CKD-EPI Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration, GFR glomerular filtration rate, Hb haemoglobin, OTC over the counter, SD standard deviation, TIA transient ischaemic attack