Possible drug-drug interactions among elderly patients receiving antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B

• Published in: Croatian medical journal Vol. 65; no. 4; pp. 305 - 312
• Main Authors: Çelik, Mehmet, Arslan, Yusuf, Önder, Taylan, Alkan, Sevil, Şahin, Ahmet, Akgül, Fethiye
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Croatia Sveuciliste U Zagrebu 01-08-2024; Croatian Medical Schools
• Subjects: Adefovir dipivoxil; Aged; Aged patients; Aged, 80 and over; Antiviral agents; Antiviral Agents - adverse effects; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Care and treatment; Comorbidity; Complications and side effects; Dosage and administration; Drug Interactions; Drug therapy; Drugs; Female; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis B, Chronic - drug therapy; Hospital patients; Humans; Male; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Middle Aged; Pharmacology, Experimental; Physiological aspects; Telbivudine; Tenofovir; Tenofovir - adverse effects; Turkey - epidemiology; Type 2 diabetes; Turkey
• ISSN: 0353-9504; 1332-8166; 1332-8166
• DOI: 10.3325/cmj.2024.65.305

To identify possible drug-drug interactions in patients taking medications for other comorbidities while on antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B.
The study enrolled patients with chronic hepatitis B aged ≥60 years who were treated with antiviral therapy in five hospitals in Turkey between January 1 and March 1, 2023. The Lexicomp® Drug Interactions program was used to identify possible drug-drug interactions.
The study included 213 patients (119 [55.9%] men). The mean age was 68.5 years. A potential drug-drug interaction was identified in 112 patients (52.6%). The most common type of interaction was type C ("follow the treatment") (71.54%). The number of potential drug-drug interactions increased with an increase in the number of drugs used by the patients. A robust and affirmative correlation was observed between the number of medications used and the number of possible drug-drug interactions (r=0.791, P<0.001). Adverse interactions (interactions of types C and D, 3.7% of cases) were limited to patients receiving tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications should be used cautiously in elderly patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate due to the increased risk of renal toxicity.