**4. Common drugs causing ADR in elderly**

The majority of ADRs in older people are Type A reactions that is, they are attributable to a predictable known pharmacological effect of a drug. Type A adverse drug reactions are usually avoidable and typically involve commonly prescribed medications [25]. There are many drugs to be avoided or used with great caution in the elderly. The most frequently implicated drug groups causing ADRs in the elderly are antibiotics, cardiovascular drugs, steroids, loop diuretics, hypoglycemic,


#### **Table 2.**

*Common drugs causing ADR in older adults.*

antipsychotics, and antidepressants (**Table 2**) [26]. A systematic review of nine studies of ADRs as a cause of hospitalization found that 51% of preventable drug-related admissions were associated with antiplatelet agents (16%), diuretics (16%), NSAIDs (11%), or anticoagulants (8%) [27]. A drug combination may sometimes cause synergistic toxicity, which is greater than the sum of the individual toxicities used alone. The risk of the development of NSAID-induced peptic ulcers in the elderly may increase by 10% when used along with corticosteroids [28]. However, concurrent use of corticosteroids and NSAIDs had shown a risk of peptic ulcers, which was 15 times greater than that of non-users of either drug [29].
