Abstract: Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics and drug combination of elemene injectable emulsion in the treatment of the elderly in the real world so as to provide reference for clinical use. Methods The clinical data on 1 887 senile patients treated with elemene injectable emulsion from 21 big hospitals in China between January 1, 2003 and July 31, 2019 was analyzed based on the Hospital Information System(HIS). The clinical characteristics of the patients were determined based on the frequency and composition ratio, and association rules were used to analyze combined medications. Results The clinical data on 1 887 elderly patients who had been treated with at least one elemene emulsion injection was collected. Most of the patients were admitted in the early summer. Male patients outnumbered female ones and their age averaged 72.27. Patients with mild symptoms accounted for the largest proportion and were treated in the Center of Oncology. The average length of hospital stay was 31.81 days. Malignant tumors, hypertension and lung infections were prevalent among these patients. Intravenous infusion was the dominating administration route in line with the instructions. The average single dosage was 97.05 mL, and the average days of medication were 6.88. The top five drug combinations were listed in order of frequency: vitamins, dexamethasone, insulin for injection and similar drugs, thymosin, and furosemide. The top five types of combined drugs were ranked in order of frequency: anti-tumor drugs, immunostimulants, antibacterial drugs, mineral supplements and vitamins. Conclusion In clinical practice, it is worthy of note that many diseases are associated with elderly patients, and the combination of multiple drugs is common. In addition, the elderly tend to have a poor knowledge of safe drug use, which is likely to cause adverse drug reactions/events.

Key words: elemene injectable emulsion, real-world study, elderly, clinical features, drug combination