Özet:

Identification of the trend of polypharmacy over the years is as valuable as determining the common definitions for taking precautions. The aim of this systematic review is to reveal the frequency, commonly used definitions and its change over the years of polypharmacy in Turkey. The reporting of this systematic review follows to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) checklist. The MEDLINE and ULAKBIM TR Dizin databases were searched for relevant studies published until April, 2021. The studies conducted with patients >18 years in Turkey were included. A total of 361 articles were identified and 52 articles met the inclusion criteria. The most common definition of polypharmacy was ‘combination of 5 or more drugs’, followed by the definitions of ‘two or more drugs’ to ‘10 or more drugs’’; and its prevalence ranged between 9% and 95% in the studies. It was determined that the most commonly used definition of polypharmacy was ‘the use of 5 or more drugs’. The prevalence of polypharmacy in Turkey was appeared in a wide range and found higher than the studies in the literature. The prevalence and trends of polypharmacy over the years should be carefully observed, inappropriate use of medicines should be examined and necessary precautions should be taken accordingly.

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