Medication regimen complexity and prevalence of potentially inappropriate medicines in older patients after hospitalisation

Background There is a relative paucity of information to characterise potential changes in medication regimen complexity and prevalence of prescribing of potentially inappropriate medications after hospitalisation, both in Australia and elsewhere. Objective To evaluate medication regimen complexity and the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications before and after admission to hospital. Setting General medical units of a tertiary care hospital in Australia. Methods Retrospective cohort study of patients aged 65 years and above. Medication complexity was measured by using the Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI). Main outcome measure The primary outcome was the change in the Medication Regimen Complexity Index for all prescribed medications after hospitalization. Results A convenience sample of 100 patients was included in the study. There was a significant change in the mean medication complexity score (as measured using the MRCI), increasing from 29 at the time of admission to 32 at the time of discharge (p < 0.05). Factors such as baseline medication regimen complexity (pre-admission MRCI) and length of stay in the hospitals appear to influence the change in medication complexity. However, the proportion of patients prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate medicine (PIM) decreased significantly, from 52% pre-hospitalization to 42% at discharge (p = 0.04). Conclusions Relative to the time of admission, overall medication complexity increased and the proportion of patients who were prescribed PIMs decreased after hospitalisation.

     

Influence of Admission to a Tertiary Care Hospital after a Fall on Use of Potentially Inappropriate Medications among Older Patients

Background:

Each year, about one-third of individuals over the age of 65 years will experience a fall, and half of these will experience a subsequent fall in the following year. The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is an important factor contributing to increased fall risk in geriatric patients.

Objective:

To determine the proportion of patients over the age of 65 admitted to orthopedics and general medicine services with diagnosis of a fall who experienced a change in the total number or dosage of PIMs, as defined by the Beers criteria, upon discharge from hospital.

Methods:

This retrospective observational study involved patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital with diagnosis of a fall between January 1 and December 31, 2011. Those aged 65 years or older with at least one PIM on admission were eligible for inclusion. Data analysis included χ² and Fisher testing, as well as multivariate analysis.

Results:

A total of 148 patients were included, of whom 63 (43%) had an overall change in the dosage or number of PIMs during their hospital stay. Forty patients (27%) had an overall reduction in the dosage or number of PIMs upon discharge from hospital, whereas 23 (16%) experienced an overall increase in the dosage or total number of PIMs. The mean number (± standard deviation) of PIMs decreased during the hospital stay, from 1.6 ± 0.8 on admission to 1.4 ± 0.9 on discharge (p = 0.03). Benzodiazepines were the class of PIMs most frequently discontinued or reduced in dosage.

Conclusion:

One-quarter of patients admitted with falls had de-escalation of PIMs upon hospital discharge. Although dosage reduction or drug discontinuation may not be appropriate for all patients, a standardized approach to medication review during the hospital stay and improved prescriber education and awareness of PIM use among elderly individuals are warranted.     

门诊老年患者潜在不适当用药对全因住院时长和住院药品费用的影响

目的:研究门诊老年人使用潜在不适当用药(PIM)对患者全因住院时长和住院费用的影响。方法:回顾性分析北京市医保数据库2016年7-9月数据。纳入的患者年龄≥65岁,应用Beers Criteria 2015版识别PIM。暴露PIM的定义为在3个月内被处方至少一个PIM。结局事件定义为患者在暴露于PIM或非PIM 14 d后(≥14 d)发生住院。通过门诊数据中患者ID匹配住院数据的患者ID,抓取发生住院的患者信息,计算这些患者的住院时长和住院药品费用。结果:研究共纳入506 214位患者,中位年龄74岁(范围65～105岁),50.10%为女性。门诊老年人服用PIM后发生住院的患者共5 200人(1.03%)。服用PIM=0,PIM=1,PIM=2、PIM≥3后住院天数分别10.00 d(7.00,14.00),11.00 d(7.00,15.00),11.00 d(8.00,14.00)和11.00 d(7.00,14.00),组间差异有统计学意义(P=0.01);服用PIM=0,PIM=1,PIM=2,PIM≥3后住院费用分别13 488.42元(8 926.00,20 914.3...     

Potentially inappropriate medications among elderly people with neurocognitive disorders – A nationwide register-based study using 3 different explicit criteria

BackgroundThe use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is a problem since it might contribute significantly to adverse drug reactions and hospital admissions among elderly with major neurocognitive disorder (NCD). To assess the appropriateness of drug treatment, different explicit criteria have been developed.ObjectivesTo investigate and compare the prevalence of PIM users among elderly with major NCD on a nationwide basis using 3 different explicit criteria. Furthermore, the study aimed to investigate factors associated with the use of PIMs.MethodsThis nationwide register-based study included 35,212 people, 65 years or older, diagnosed with major NCD and registered in the Swedish registry for cognitive/dementia disorders up to June 30, 2017 and alive December 31, 2017. PIMs were identified using 3 different explicit criteria; the Swedish quality indicators, the EU(7)-PIM list and the AGS Beers Criteria. PIM use was defined as having collected a minimum of one PIM at least once between July 01 – December 31, 2017.ResultsThe numbers of people using one or more PIMs were 7629 (21.7%) according to the Swedish quality indicators, 11,838 (33.6%) according to the EU(7)-PIM list, and 12,002 (34.1%) according to AGS Beers Criteria. Antipsychotics, antithrombotic agents and anxiolytics were the most frequently used PIM class according to the different assessment tools, respectively. The use of PIMs was positively associated with vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia/Parkinson's disease dementia, regardless of the assessment tool used. However, the association between using at least one PIM and age, sex, MMT-value and frontotemporal dementia, differed depending on the criteria used.ConclusionsThe different results and included PIMs indicate the different perspectives on PIMs between criteria, which make it difficult to compare the results. However, psychotropic drug use requires further highlighting, as well as the association between PIM use and different types of major NCD.     

基于北京市医保数据分析门诊潜在不适当用药现状及对骨折、跌倒和低血糖而住院或急诊的发生率的影响

目的:调查门诊患者潜在不适当用药(PIM)发生率,并探究PIM与因骨折、跌倒和低血糖住院和急诊就诊发生率的关系.方法:回顾性分析北京市医保数据库2016年7～9月数据.纳入的患者年龄均≥65岁,应用Beers 2015版识别PIM.暴露PIM的定义为服用PIM≥14d.通过住院和急诊的诊断判定骨折、跌倒和低血糖的临床结...     

Cost of adverse drug events related to potentially inappropriate medication use: A systematic review

BackgroundThe use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) for older people is associated with worse health outcomes owing to the occurrence of adverse drug events (ADEs) and drug interactions, leading to increased health care costs.ObjectivesIdentify the costs of ADEs related to PIMs use, in addition to the costs predictors.MethodsA systematic review was conducted in the PubMed and Scopus databases (until February, 2022), and the report of this study was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Interventional and observational studies that reported costs of ADEs regardless of perspective (i.e., payer) were considered. Reporting and methodological quality were assessed using the tool proposed by Larg and Moss for evaluating cost-of-illness studies.ResultsA total of 20 (21 publications), published between 2001 and 2020, were included (236,888,744 older people). The ADEs costs related to PIMs use were mostly related to the use of health services (hospitalization [n = 7], health care expenses [n = 7], and emergency department visits [n = 3]). Among the 8 studies that reported P value, 7 identified higher costs for PIM users than non-PIM users. Three studies reported cost predictors, being highest number of PIMs in use, age older than 75 years, male gender, general health status in older people in use of benzodiazepines, and drug interactions in older people diagnosed as having dementia. Regarding to assessment of reporting and methodological quality, all studies had at least one limitation (answer “no”).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that PIMs use is associated with higher costs of hospitalization, health care expenses, and visits to emergency department owing to ADEs, regardless of PIMs in use, health service, perspective, and screening tools used for PIMs identification. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution because all studies had at least one methodological limitation.