Abstract
Objective: To analyze the use of medication in the elderly, evaluate the presence of polypharmacy and the pharmacological pattern. Methods: A cross-sectional study, carried out by the medical records of the elderly health clinic in the period from January 2014 to December 2016. Variables analyzed: pharmacological pattern of these patients, existing comorbidities and polypharmacy. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test of Adherence. Results: A total of 236 medical records were analyzed, of which 163 (69.1%) of female patients and 73 (30.9%) of the patients were male gender. The diseases mentioned in the sample were 75.6% of hypertension, 49.4% of diabetes and 16.2% of respiratory disorders. In the pharmacological standard, antihypertensives (41.0%), oral hypoglycemic agents (10.5%) and antiplatelet agents (5.9%) are predominant. Polypharmacy is more frequent in the elderly (9.3%) than in the elderly (7.6%). Conclusion: A majority of females were found. The main disease was hypertension, followed by diabetes and respiratory disorders. Antihypertensives are the most prescribed medications, followed by oral hypoglycemic agents and antiplatelet agents. A higher percentage of polypharmacy was observed in the elderly when compared to the elderly.