At present, 19.2% of the Spanish population is aged 65 or older. Polypharmacy is a frequent condition among the elderly, especially in those living in nursing homes, which is associated with adverse outcomes, such as adverse drug events or drug-drug interactions. This study aimed to assess the pattern of polypharmacy in a nursing home in Leon, one of Spain’s most ageing regions, and its relationship with different drug-related problems. A descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study design was used; 222 residents were involved in this study. Data on drug use were collected from medical charts. Information was screened with the software CheckTheMeds, BOT PLUS and Drug-Reax. Residents were on a median of 7 medicines. Polypharmacy and inappropriate medications were present in 78.8% and 96.8% of residents, respectively. Drug-related problems were present in almost all the populations evaluated. Drug-drug interactions were very common in participants (81.1%), being severe/moderate in 24.7%. A high prevalence of polypharmacy and drug-related problems in the nursing home population assessed has been observed. A significantly higher risk of suffering drug-drug interactions was revealed for increasing polypharmacy and anticholinergic risk. A regular evaluation of drug prescribing in nursing home residents is necessary to minimize drug-related problems risk.

Inappropriate prescribing in the elderly is a risk factor for higher adverse drugs reactions, hospitalisation, and mortality rates. Therefore, it is necessary to identify irrational prescriptions and implement interventions to improve geriatric clinical practices in nursing homes. This study aimed to examine and compare the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications in nursing home residents using three different updated criteria: 2019 Beers criteria, PRISCUS list, and v2 STOPP criteria, and to determine the prevalence of potential prescribing omissions according to v2 START criteria. A descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study design was used. A total of 218 residents were involved in this study. Data on drug use were collected from medical charts. Information was screened with the software CheckTheMeds. Potentially inappropriate medications were present in 96.3%, 90.8%, and 35.3% of residents, according to the STOPP, Beers, and PRISCUS criteria or list, respectively. Inappropriate medication was found to be significantly associated with polypharmacy and severe or moderate drug–drug interactions with the three tools and with pathologies and unnecessary drugs only for STOPP criteria. The most frequent inappropriate medications were benzodiazepines and proton pump inhibitors. A regular use of software to review medications in nursing home residents would help to reduce the risk of these drug-related problems.

Medicinal plants have been used in veterinary medicine since ancient times, and they are gaining importance in Eastern Europe. The aim of this study was to conduct a survey on the use of medicinal plants in Spain. A cross-sectional study with an online questionnaire was carried out among Spanish small animal veterinarians, to evaluate the use patterns of medicinal plants and attitudes of professionals toward it. 313 veterinarians took part in the study. Most of them were female (80.2%) and age ranged 35–49 (49.5%). 80.3% of respondents use phytotherapy. Musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal disorders were those most frequently treated, with cannabis, aloe and thyme the most often medicinal plants used. The most common pattern of user was women working in clinics.

Meloxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory in the oxicam group. It has been extensively used in human and veterinary medicine for their anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activities. Meloxicam has shown high therapeutic potential for disorders such as osteoarthritis, musculoskeletal disorder, acute respiratory infection, puerperal septicemia, mastitis and mastitis–metritis–agalactia syndrome. Although meloxicam pharmacokinetic has been described for numerous species, no paper summarizes the existing literature on this field. Thus, the aim of this review was to carry out a review of the literature on the pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in different animal species and gather the data in a single review article. A comprehensive review of the available literature in the PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases was performed. Meloxicam shows good bioavailability after oral and parenteral administration in most animal species (85–95%), with the lowest values in sheep after oral administration. It presents a rapid distribution with a small volume of distribution, which can be attributed to relatively high ionization state of meloxicam at physiological pH and its high plasma protein binding (close to 99%). It is extensively metabolized in the liver in several inactive polar metabolites, which are excreted, like unchanged meloxicam in urine and feces. Meloxicam also shows a long elimination half-life and low clearance.

In Spain, there has been a progressive increase in aging. Specifically, Leon has been one of the Spanish provinces with the highest aging index. Polypharmacy is highly prevalent among the elderly, with significant consequences for safety. The aim of this study was to assess the consumption of drugs in a nursing home in the province of Leon and establish the relationship between polypharmacy and the most common comorbid diseases. A descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study design was used. Residents’ information and treatments were collected by reviewing on medical charts, completed with clinical information obtained from the physician of the nursing home. The mean age of residents was 86.8 years, and 63.8% were female. Mean medical consumption amounted to 7.02 prescriptions. Polypharmacy was observed in 54.9% of residents, and excessive polypharmacy in 22.1%. The most commonly used medications (ATC classification) were those acting on the cardiovascular system (84.4%) and the nervous system (82.8%). A high-level of drug consumption was observed in the nursing home. Interventions should focus on those residents hospitalized the last year and with recent contact with a general practitioner. There is a need to develop a comprehensive monitoring system to assess the quality of prescriptions for nursing home residents.

Antibiotics are essential medicines against infectious diseases in both humans and animals. An inappropriate use of antibiotics can impair animal health and enhance the risk of bacterial resistance, as well as its transfer from animals to humans. The objective of this study was to assess the possibility of purchasing antibiotics for veterinary use on the internet, to evaluate if a prescription is required, and to determine the availability of drugs classified as the highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HP-CIA). The Google and Bing search engines and both simple and complex search strings in Spanish and in English were used. The simple search string was “buy veterinary antibiotics”. Complex searches used wildcards and specific syntax. The searches carried out in Spanish revealed that 50% of websites operated in South America, and 65% of websites did not require a valid prescription. Fluoroquinolones were offered in 84% of these websites (45% without prescription), macrolides were offered in 63% of these websites (43% without prescription), and 3rd– and 4th–generation cephalosporins in 54% of these websites (38% without prescription). For the searches in English, 57% of these websites operated in the United States of America (USA), and 55% of them did not require a prescription. Fluoroquinolones were offered in 79% of these websites (49% without prescription), macrolides were offered in 72% of these websites (45% without prescription), and 3rd– and 4th–generation cephalosporins were offered in 49% of these websites (27% without prescription). Therefore, it is easy to illegally access antibiotics via the internet.