AUA White Paper on the Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults

AbstractIntroduction: Medication related problems are common but may be preventable outcomes of prescribing choices. Risks associated with medications in the older adult population are greater due to changes in physiological function with age or disease. Older adults and those with significant comorbidities are often excluded from the clinical trials used to develop medications. In 2012 the American Geriatrics Society published the most recent update of the Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults. Several medications included in sections of the Beers Criteria are frequently used in clinical urology, including nitrofurantoin, alpha-1 blocker medications, and antimuscarinic anticholinergic medications for the treatment of urge incontinence and overactive bladder. We describe the challenges and considerations that are useful in prescribing medications for geriatric patients.Methods: A literature review was performed targeting publications from 2003 to 2013 on the topics of...