The Norwegian General Practice--Nursing Home criteria (NORGEP-NH) for potentially inappropriate medication use: A web-based Delphi study

International Deprescribing Guidelines Did Not Impact Actual Practice in Deprescribing of Potentially Inappropriate Medications for Nursing Home Residents: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis

BACKGROUND

Deprescribing guidelines reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in trial settings; however, their real-world impact remains unclear. Therefore, this study assesses deprescribing trends and the impact of guideline publications (STOPPFrail, proton pump inhibitors [PPIs], and antipsychotics) on these trends among nursing home residents with limited life expectancy in Belgium.

METHODS

Deprescribing was assessed using linked healthcare reimbursement data for all residents aged 65 years and older who died between 2014 and 2019. In total, 15 PIMs from STOPPFrail version 1 were selected. Deprescribing was operationalized as discontinuing at least one PIM in the last 4 months of life among those who had been prescribed these medications chronically between 6-12 months prior to death. To identify changes in the trend of deprescribing, we employed a joinpoint linear regression model. We calculated the average quarterly percent change (AQPC) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In addition, we used autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modeling to explore the impact of publication of these guidelines on four commonly used PIMs: PPIs, antipsychotics, lipid modifying agents, and calcium.

RESULTS

Among 244,865 residents, 169,782 (69.3%) were chronically prescribed at least one PIM and 50,487 (29.7%) had at least one discontinued. The prevalence of deprescribing declined from 31.7 to 27.66% between the first quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2019, with an average quarterly percent change decline of - 0.47% (95% CI - 0.85, - 0.10). No joinpoints were identified, indicating a consistent linear trend with no interruptions or statistically significant shifts in the rate of change in deprescribing prevalence. ARIMA modeling found that the publication of deprescribing guidelines had no impact on deprescribing trends.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the high use of PIMs, and the publication of the STOPPFrail, PPI, and antipsychotic deprescribing guidelines, deprescribing rates remained low and even decreased. These findings emphasize the importance of implementation efforts that go well beyond guideline publications to effectively change deprescribing practices.

Medication Appropriateness for Older Nursing Home Patients With a Limited Life Expectancy: From STOPP/START Version 2 to the ReNeWAL Criteria

OBJECTIVES

To adapt the 2015 Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions (STOPP)/Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment (START) criteria to older nursing home patients with a limited life expectancy of 1.5 to 2 years.

DESIGN

A modified Delphi consensus study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

The study was established in The Netherlands and conducted online. The international panel consisted of 23 experts with experience in medicine for older people.

METHODS

The expert panel was presented with the 2015 STOPP/START criteria using an online survey program (Survey Monkey). The panelists were asked for their opinion on the appropriateness of the STOPP and START criteria, and adaptations to these criteria for older nursing home patients with a limited life expectancy on 4-point Likert scales. Consensus was defined as ≥70% of the panelists answering (very) inappropriate or (very) appropriate, and (completely) disagree or (completely) agree.

RESULTS

Twenty-one panelists completed all 3 Delphi rounds. The final list of "Represcribing for Nursing home residents With A Limited life expectancy (ReNeWAL)" criteria comprises 132 criteria: 98 criteria to stop (70 original STOPP criteria and 28 adapted) and 34 criteria to start (16 original START criteria and 18 adapted) for older nursing home patients with a limited life expectancy. Considerations that panelists mentioned for adapting criteria were mainly prevention and treatment of discomfort.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

It is clear that represcribing for older nursing home patients is highly complex and requires the consideration of various elements. The ReNeWAL criteria may be useful in enhancing represcribing for older nursing home patients with a limited life expectancy.

Prescribing Appropriate Medicines to Older Adults: A Finnish Experience with the Web-Based Meds75+ Database

The Finnish web-based Meds75+ database supports rational, safe and appropriate prescribing to older adults in primary care. This article describes the content and updating process of Meds75+ and demonstrates its applicability in everyday clinical practice. Meds75+ contains a classification (A-D) and recommendation texts for 450-500 drug substances when used in the treatment of older adults aged 75 years or older. The content of Meds75+ is continually updated. Each assessment of a drug substance begins with a structured collection of available information and research evidence. After that, an interdisciplinary expert panel discusses the classification and recommendation using a consensus method. A rolling 3-year updating cycle guarantees that all drug substances are reviewed regularly. Most drug substances are classified as class A (41%) (suitable, e.g. bisoprolol) or as class C (37%) (suitable with specific precautions, e.g. ibuprofen). One-fifth (20%) of the substances are in class D (avoid use, e.g. diazepam). Most commonly, older adults have purchased substances affecting the alimentary tract and metabolism (17%), the nervous system (16%) and the cardiovascular system (15%). In Finland, the proportion of older adults using class D substances (37%) has not changed between the years 2019 and 2022. Meds75+ has potential to support safer and more effective use of medications for older adults, since it offers up-to-date information on drug substances for healthcare professionals.

Malnutrition and Polypharmacy in Older Adult Patients Receiving Home Care Nursing Services: A Cross-sectional Study

OBJECTIVE

We studied the nutritional status of older adult adults receiving home nursing care using demographic data, household category, polypharmacy, and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Two Norwegian municipalities during 2017-2019; home nursing service clients aged ≥70 years.

METHODS

Inclusion of patients and data collection were done by nurses working in the home services. Recorded data were participants' age, sex, living alone or with others, nutritional status (Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form and body mass index), regular prescription drugs, and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) according to the Norwegian General Practice Nursing home (NORGEP-NH) criteria. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used.

RESULTS

Of the 270 patients (mean age 84.2 years; 64.8% females; 188 living alone), 25 (9.3%) were malnourished and 154 (57%) at risk of malnutrition; in addition, 14.8% had a BMI <21 and 27.8% had lost weight in the previous 3 months. The odds for being at malnutrition risk was higher if living with others vs living alone: adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.23 (1.20-4.13). Female sex, older age, and better mobility was associated with living alone. The mean number of regular drugs was 7.3. Overall, 43.3% of the participants used at least 1 PIM. Using 0 to 5 drugs vs ≥6 drugs (polypharmacy) was associated with higher odds for malnutrition risk: adjusted OR 1.97 (1.04-3.75). Compared with well-nourished patients, those at risk for or who were malnourished used fewer cardiovascular and musculoskeletal drugs. Exposure to PIMs was not associated with nutritional status.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Two-thirds of home nurse clients were either malnourished or at risk for malnutrition. Living with others or using fewer daily drugs implied increased risk for malnourishment, probably reflecting differences in morbidity and possible inappropriateness of medication use. Future research on nutritional status and medication use should aim for including more clinical data than simple drug counts.

Tools and guidelines to assess the appropriateness of medication and aid deprescribing: An umbrella review

AIMS

The aim of this umbrella review was to identify tools and guidelines to aid the deprescribing process of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), evaluate development and validation methods, and describe evidence levels for medication inclusion.

METHODS

Searches were conducted on MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase.com, Cochrane CDSR, CINAHL (EBSCO), Web of Science Core Collection and guideline databases from the date of inception to 7 July 2022. Following the initial search, an additional search was conducted to identify an updated versions of tools on 17 July 2023. We analysed the contents of tools and guidelines.

RESULTS

From 23 systematic reviews and guidelines, we identified 95 tools (72 explicit, 12 mixed and 11 implicit) and nine guidelines. Most tools (83.2%) were developed to use for older persons, including 14 for those with limited life expectancy. Seven tools were for children <18 years (7.37%). Most explicit/mixed tools (78.57%) and all guidelines were validated. We found 484 PIMs and 202 medications with different appropriateness independent of disease for older persons with normal and limited life expectancy, respectively. Only two tools and eight guidelines reported the evidence level, and a quarter of medications had high-quality evidence.

CONCLUSIONS

Tools are available for a diversity of populations. There were discrepancies, with the same medication being classified as inappropriate in some tools and appropriate in others, possibly due to low-quality evidence. In particular, tools for patients with limited life expectancy were developed based on very limited evidence, and research to generate this evidence is urgently needed. Our medication lists, along with the level of evidence, could facilitate efforts to strengthen the evidence.

Potentially Inappropriate Medication Dispensing in Outpatients: Comparison of Different Measurement Approaches

Purpose of the Research

This paper aims at comparing different approaches to measure potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) with routinely collected data on prescriptions, patient age institutionalization status (ie in nursing home or in the community). A secondary objective is to measure the rate and prevalence of PIM dispensing and to identify problematic practices in Switzerland.

Material and Methods

The studied population includes about 90,000 insured over 17 years old from a Swiss health maintenance organization in 2019 and 2020. We computed and compared the number of PIM per patient for Beers criteria, Priscus list, Laroche, NORGEP and Prescrire approaches. We also created a composite indicator that accounts for the specificities of the Swiss context (adaptation to the Swiss drugs' market, recommendations in force related to sleeping pills, anxiolytics and NSAIDs). We also stratified the analysis per physician, including initiation and cessation of PIM prescription.

Results

Our comparison revealed similarities between the approaches, but also that each of them had specific gaps that provides further motivation for the development of a composite approach. PIM rate was particularly high for sleeping pills, anxiolytics, NSAIDs, even when analyses were limited to chronic use. Drugs with anticholinergic effect were also frequently prescribed. Based on our composite indicator, 27% of insured over 64 years old received at least one PIM in 2020, and 8% received more than one. Our analyses also reveal that for sleeping pills and anxiolytics, half of the volume (or prevalence?) occurs in the <65 population. We observed strong variations between physicians and a significant proportion of new users among patients with PIM.

Conclusion

Our results show that PIMs prescribing is very frequent in Switzerland and is driven mostly by a few drug categories. There is important physician variation in PIM prescribing that warrants the development of intervention targeted at high PIM-prescribers.

Tackling potentially inappropriate prescriptions in older adults: development of deprescribing criteria by consensus from experts in Colombia, Argentina, and Spain

BACKGROUND

Potentially inappropriate medication use is prevalent among older adults in primary care, leading to increased morbidity, adverse drug reactions, hospitalizations, and mortality. This study aimed to develop and validate a tool for identifying PIMs in older adults within the primary care setting. The tool is composed of a list of criteria and was created based on consensus among experts from three Spanish-speaking countries, including two from Latin America.

METHODS

A literature review was conducted to identify existing tools, and prescription patterns were evaluated in a cohort of 36,111 older adults. An electronic Delphi method, consisting of two rounds, was used to reach a formal expert consensus. The panel included 18 experts from Spain, Colombia, and Argentina. The content validity index, validity of each content item, and Kappa Fleiss statistical measure were used to establish reliability.

RESULTS

Round one did not yield a consensus, but a definitive consensus was reached in round two. The resulting tool consisted of a list of 5 general recommendations per disease, along with 33 criteria related to potential problems, recommendations, and alternative therapeutic options. The overall content validity of the tool was 0.87, with a Kappa value of 0.69 (95% CI 0.64-0.73; Substantial).

CONCLUSIONS

The developed criteria provide a novel list that allows for a comprehensive approach to pharmacotherapy in older adults, intending to reduce inappropriate medication use, ineffective treatments, prophylactic therapies, and treatments with an unfavorable risk-benefit ratio for the given condition. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the impact of these criteria on health outcomes.

Implementation of interprofessional quality circles on deprescribing in Swiss nursing homes: an observational study

BACKGROUND

Polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are still frequent among older adults in nursing homes. Deprescribing is an intervention that has been shown to be effective in reducing their use. However, the implementation of deprescribing in clinical practice has not yet been widely evaluated. The Quality Circle Deprescribing Module (QC-DeMo) intervention has been trialled through an effectiveness-implementation hybrid type 2 design. The intervention consists of a quality circle workshop session between healthcare professionals HCPs (physicians, nurses, and pharmacists) within a nursing home, in which they define a consensus to deprescribe specific PIMs classes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the QC-DeMo intervention in nursing homes.

METHODS

This observational study focuses on the implementation part of the QC-DeMo trial. Implementation was based on the Framework for Implementation of Pharmacy Services (FISpH). Questionnaires at baseline and follow-up were used to evaluate reach, adoption, implementation effectiveness, fidelity, implementation, maintenance and the implementation strategies. Other data were collected from the QC-DeMo trial and routine data collected as part of the integrated pharmacy service where the QC-Demo trial was embedded. Implementation strategies included training of pharmacists, integration of the intervention into an existing quality circle dynamic and definition of tailored strategies to operationalise the consensus by each nursing home.

RESULTS

The QC-DeMo intervention was successfully implemented in 26 nursing homes in terms of reach, fidelity, adoption, implementation and implementation effectiveness. However, the intervention was found to be implemented with low maintenance as none of the nursing homes repeated the intervention after the trial. Implementation strategies were well received by HCPs: training was adequate according to pharmacists. Pre-existing quality circle dynamic facilitated interprofessional collaboration as involvement and support of each HCP was rated as high. HCPs recognized a specific and important role for each HCP in the deprescribing process. The most relevant tailored strategies to implement the consensus defined by each nursing home were identification of the patients by the pharmacist and a systematic review of medication's patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation of a Quality Circle on Deprescribing is feasible but its maintenance in practice remains challenging. This study explores multiple implementation outcomes to better inform future implementation efforts of these types of interventions.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT03688542 ), registered on 26.09.2018.

Pain and quality of life in nursing home residents with dementia after admission - a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Pain in nursing home (NH) residents with dementia is commonly reported and may affect Quality of Life (QoL) negatively. Few longitudinal studies have explored how pain and QoL develop in NH residents with dementia starting from their admission to the NH.

AIM

The aim was to explore pain, QoL, and the association between pain and QoL over time in persons with dementia admitted to a NH.

METHODS

A convenience sample, drawn from 68 non-profit NHs, included a total of 996 Norwegian NH residents with dementia (mean age 84.5 years, SD 7.6, 36.1% men) at NH admission (A1), with annual follow-ups for two years (A2 and A3). Pain and QoL were assessed using the Mobilization-Observation-Behavior-Intensity-Dementia-2 (MOBID-2) Pain Scale and the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia (QUALID) scale, respectively, at all assessments. Severity of dementia, personal level of activities of daily living, general medical health, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and the prescription of psychotropic drugs and analgesics (opioids and/or paracetamol) were also assessed at all assessments.

RESULTS

Mean (SD) MOBID-2 pain intensity scores were 2.1 (2.1), 2.2 (2.2), and 2.4 (2.1) at A1, A2, and A3, respectively. Participants who were prescribed analgesics had higher pain intensity scores at all assessments than participants not prescribed analgesics. The mean (SD) QUALID scores at each assessment were 19.8 (7.1), 20.8 (7.2), and 22.1 (7.5) at A1, A2, and A3, respectively. In the adjusted linear mixed model, higher pain intensity score, prescription of opioids, and prescription of paracetamol were associated with poorer QoL (higher QUALID total score and higher scores in the QoL dimensions of sadness and tension) when assessed simultaneously. No time trend in QoL was found in these adjusted analyses.

CONCLUSION

NH residents with dementia who have higher pain intensity scores or are prescribed analgesics are more likely to have poorer QoL. Clinicians, NH administrators, and national healthcare authorities need to look into strategies and actions for pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain treatment to reduce pain intensity while simultaneously avoiding negative side effects of pain treatment that hamper QoL.

Medication-Related Acute Care Admission and Inappropriate Polypharmacy of Nursing Home Residents

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the prevalence of medication-related admissions (MRAs) and their association with potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) used by nursing home residents admitted to the geriatric center of a tertiary hospital.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Older patients admitted from nursing homes to the geriatric center of the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital who had undergone comprehensive geriatric assessment from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020.

METHODS

MRAs were determined and verified using a previously described MRA adjudication guide. The PIMs in the preadmission medication lists were identified according to each of the following criteria (as well as the combined criteria), the Beers, NORGEP-NH, STOPP/START-NH, and STOPPFrail criteria. Medication use factors associated with MRAs were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

Among the 304 acute care admissions, 32.2% were MRAs. The main cause of MRAs was acute kidney injury related with use of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors. Approximately 81% of the patients used at least 1 PIM according to the combined criteria. The use of 1 or more PIMs, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, diuretics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and benzodiazepines was significantly associated with MRAs. The combined criteria were able to predict MRAs better than the individual criteria.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Approximately one-third of acute admissions of nursing home residents may be MRAs. Interventions for the optimal use of medication among nursing home residents are needed.

Importancia y generalidades de la valoración geriátrica integral como herramienta de abordaje de la persona mayor en atención domiciliaria

La atención domiciliaria es uno de los niveles asistenciales más populares en los últimos años, permitiendo dar continuidad a la atención de personas hospitalizadas pero también, manejando personas con condiciones crónicas, discapacidad y trastornos neurocognitivos. Con este estudio, resaltamos los objetivos, componentes y beneficios de la valoración geriátrica en el domicilio.

Prevalence and associated factors of drug-drug interactions in elderly outpatients in a tertiary care hospital: a cross-sectional study based on three databases

Background

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are factors of adverse drug reactions and are more common in elderly patients. Identifying potential DDIs can prevent the related risks. Fewer studies of potential DDIs in prescribing for elderly patients in outpatient clinics. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors with potential DDIs and potentially clinically significant DDIs (csDDIs) among elderly outpatients based on 3 DDIs databases.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out on outpatients (≥65 years old) of a tertiary care hospital in China between January and March 2022. Patients' prescriptions, including at least 1 systemic drug, were consecutively collected. The potential DDIs were identified by Lexicomp^®, Micromedex^®, and DDInter. Patient-related clinical parameter recorded at the prescriptions and DDIs with higher risk rating was analyzed. Variables showing association in univariate analysis (P<0.2) were included in logistic regression analysis. Weighted kappa analysis was used to analyze the consistencies of different databases.

Results

A total of 19,991 elderly outpatients were involved in the study, among whom 21,527 drug combinations including 486 drugs occurred. Lexicomp^®, Micromedex^®, and DDInter respectively identified 32.22%, 32.93%, and 22.62% of patients have at least one potential DDIs, meanwhile, 9.16%, 14.53%, and 4.56% of patients have at least one potential csDDIs. Under any evaluation criteria, polypharmacy and neurology visits were risk factors for csDDIs. Lexicomp^® has the highest coverage rate (87.86%) for drugs. Micromedex^® identified the most csDDIs (740 drug combinations). Drugs used in diabetes and psycholeptics were frequently found in the csDDIs of 2 commercial databases. The consistency between Lexicomp^® and Micromedex^® was moderate (weighted kappa 0.473). DDInter had fair consistencies with the other databases.

Conclusions

This study showed the prevalence of potential DDIs is high in elderly outpatients and potential csDDIs were prevalent. Considering the relative risk, pre-warning of potential DDIs before outpatient prescribing is necessary. As the consistencies among identification criteria are not good, more research is needed to focus on actual adverse outcomes to promote accurate prevention of csDDIs.

Thürmann P. Potentially Inadequate Medications in the Elderly: PRISCUS 2.0

BACKGROUND

The term potentially inadequate medication (PIM) is used to describe substances that may be unsuitable for use inthe elderly and should be avoided. The PRISCUS list, published in 2010, was the first catalog of PIM designed for the Germandrug market to become adopted in practice. While 24% of German patients aged ≥ 65 years were prescribed at least one PIMper year in 2009, the proportion in 2019 was only 14.5%.

METHODS

In a three-round Delphi process, experts from clinical practice and research evaluated whether selected substancesare PIM for the elderly. The participants were provided with dedicated literature including systematic reviews carried out for theparticular purposes of this project.

RESULTS

Fifty-nine persons took part in the Delphi process and, in addition, contributed comments and therapeutic alternatives.Altogether, 187 substances were classed as PIM. One hundred thirty-three of the substances now listed were not in the originalPRISCUS list: these include some oral antidiabetics, all of the selective COX-2 inhibitors, and moderately long acting benzodiazepinessuch as oxazepam. For some other substances, e.g., proton pump inhibitors (PPI), the advisability of treatment formore than 8 weeks was considered as potentially inappropriate, as was the use of ibuprofen in doses >1200 mg/day and formore than 1 week without PPI. Risperidone for more than 6 weeks is also PIM.

CONCLUSION

The new, greatly extended PRISCUS list must now be validated in epidemiological and prospective studies and itspracticability in routine daily use must be verified.

Prevalence and persistent prescription of analgesic drugs in persons admitted with dementia to a nursing home - A longitudinal study

The overall aim was to explore the prevalence and persistent regular prescription of opioids and paracetamol among nursing home (NH) residents with dementia at admission and over time. A total of 996 residents with dementia, mean (SD) age 84.5 (7.6) years and (36.1% men), were included at admission (A1). Yearly assessments were performed for two years (A2 and A3) or until death. Pain was assessed using the Mobilization-Observation-Behavior-Intensity-Dementia-2 (MOBID-2) Pain Scale. Information regarding prescription of analgesics, general physical health, personal activities of daily living, severity of dementia, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and prescription of psychotropic drugs was collected. A generalized linear mixed model was used to explore whether pain severity was associated with persistent and persistent prescription of opioids and/or paracetamol across timepoints. At A1, 495 of 996 (49.7%) NH residents were prescribed analgesics and prevalence increased at the follow-ups (A2: n = 630, 65.1%; A3: n = 382, 71.2%). Paracetamol was the most frequently prescribed analgesic at all assessments (A1: 45.5%; A2: 59.5%; A3: 67.1%). Opioid prescriptions were quite prevalent (A1: 18.1%; A2: 25.1%; A3: 28.3%), with odds approximately 13 times (OR = 13.3, 95% CI 6.8-26.0) and 9 times (OR = 8.6, 95% CI 3.7-20.3) higher for prescription at follow-up A2 and A3, respectively, relative to prescription at A1. In adjusted analyses, higher pain intensity and poor physical health were associated with prescription and persistent prescription of opioids and paracetamol. In conclusion, prevalence and persistent prescription of analgesics were high in NH residents with dementia. The odds for the prescription of opioids at follow-up were high if prescribed at baseline. Interdisciplinary collaboration, routine assessment of pain at admission and regularly thereafter, and systematic drug reviews are essential to adequately assess and treat pain in NH residents with dementia.

Development of a medication review tool for residents in Korean long-term care facilities

INTRODUCTION

Residents in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are likely to suffer from drug-related problems, such as inappropriate polypharmacy and potential prescribing omissions due to multimorbidity and high-level frailty. Medication reviews are thus necessary to identify and resolve drug-related problems in LTCF residents. In this study, we aimed to develop a medication review tool for older adults in LTCFs in Korea.

METHODS

We did a systematic review to identify previously developed explicit criteria and devised preliminary potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) list for the LTCF elderly from previous tools. Each item on this list was categorized into 23 underlying diseases/conditions, and the interventions necessary for each PIM were included. A two-round modified Delphi survey was performed sequentially for consensus evaluation of clinical appropriateness and feasibility of the list items by 12 experts (seven physicians in different specialties and five pharmacists specialized in geriatrics) and seven pharmacists, respectively.

RESULTS

We identified 22 existing tools and devised a preliminary PIM list including 100 items. Ninety-one items were derived from the two-round Delphi survey for clinical appropriateness. In the feasibility test, 77 items were integrated into the final medication review tool for the LTCF elderly. The final list was composed of items relating to PIMs in general (18), potential drug interactions (14), PIMs under specific diseases/conditions (26), a need for dose adjustment (2), and potential omissions (17).

CONCLUSIONS

We developed a disease-category-based explicit medication review tool for detecting PIM use for LTCF residents. This tool may be helpful in implementing medication review practices to assist pharmacists or physicians for the elderly in LTCFs. Further research is required to validate the effectiveness of our tool in clinical practice.

Identification and characterisation of deprescribing tools for older patients: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Deprescription is the revision of the therapeutic plan with the aim of simplifying it, taking into account patient preferences, prognosis and environment. This strategy is particularly relevant in older patients, mostly polymedicated individuals, since they are exposed to numerous adverse effects and interactions and tend to have less adherence to treatments.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the deprescribing tools for older patients available in the scientific literature, classify them according to their design and describe their main features and potential applicability in clinical practice.

METHODS

A search was conducted in PubMed and EMBASE for relevant literature published before July 2021. The PRISMA-ScR method was applied, extracting variables related to study and tool characteristics as well as potential clinical applicability. The main inclusion criteria were studies focused on designing or developing deprescribing tools for older patients and those that indicated the features of the deprescribing tool used in detail.

RESULTS

Fourteen of 723 papers met the inclusion criteria, and 12 tools were identified: 6 "algorithm-based tools" and 6 "criterion-based tools". Though all tools are aimed at older patients, there are certain peculiarities regarding their design, population, application setting and variables included. Of the 6 criterion-based tools found, 4 used the Delphi method for their design and development. Furthermore, most of them agree on the pharmacological groups that are likely to be deprescribed.

CONCLUSIONS

Taking into account the importance of the clinical situation and priorities in the care plan in the deprescribing process, the authors believe that tools which help to evaluate these aspects are the most suitable for application in clinical practice. However, it is necessary to continue studying applicability in real-life clinical scenarios and to obtain health results.

Strategies and Tools for Supporting the Appropriateness of Drug Use in Older People

Through this structured review of the published literature, we aimed to provide an up-to-date description of strategies (human-related) and tools (mainly from the digital field) facilitating the appropriateness of drug use in older adults. The evidence of each strategy and tool's effectiveness and sustainability largely derives from local and heterogeneous experiences, with contrasting results. As a general framework, three main steps should be considered in implementing measures to improve appropriateness: prescription, acceptance by the patient, and continuous monitoring of adherence and risk-benefit profile. Each step needs efforts from specific actors (physicians, patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals) and dedicated supporting tools. Moreover, how to support the appropriateness also strictly depends on the particular setting of care (hospital, ambulatory or primary care, nursing home, long-term care) and available economic resources. Therefore, it is urgent assigning to each approach proposed in the literature the following characteristics: level of effectiveness, strength of evidence, setting of implementation, needed resources, and issues for its sustainability.

Chronic-pharma: New Platform for Chronic Patients Pharmacotherapy Optimization

We describe the technological development of a web platform named CHRONIC-PHARMA that integrates three prescription support tools for patients with chronic diseases: Anticholinergic Burden Calculator (ABC), LESS-CHRON criteria and TRIGGER-CHRON. They focus on the optimization and evaluation of pharmacotherapy in patients with chronic diseases, resulting in a useful, single platform that can facilitate the review of pharmacotherapy and improve the safety of chronically ill patients. This is achieved by estimating and reducing the anticholinergic risk (ABC), detecting opportunities for deprescribing drugs and monitoring its success (LESS-CHRON criteria), as well as calculating the risk of adverse drug events (TRIGGER-CHRON). The platform is freely accessible online (https://chronic-pharma.com/) as well as through a mobile application, and therefore easily accessible among the healthcare community.

The Effect of the NorGeP–NH on Quality of Life and Drug Prescriptions in Norwegian Nursing Homes: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: The effect of the Norwegian General Practice–Nursing Home (NorGeP–NH) criteria has never been tested on clinical outcomes in nursing home (NH) residents. We performed a cluster-randomized trial in Norwegian NHs and tested the effect of NorGeP–NH on QoL (primary outcome), medication prescriptions, and physical and mental health (secondary outcomes) for the enrolled residents; Methods: Fourteen NHs were randomized into intervention NHs (iNHs) and control NHs (cNHs). After baseline data collection, physicians performed NorGeP–NH on the enrolled residents. We assessed the difference between cNHs and iNHs in the change in primary outcome from baseline to 12 weeks and secondary outcomes from baseline to eight and 12 weeks by linear mixed models; Results: One hundred and eight residents (13 lost to follow-up) and 109 residents (nine lost to follow-up) were randomized to iNHs and cNHs, respectively. Difference in change in QoL at 12 weeks between cNHs and iNHs was not statistically significant (mean (95% CI)): −1.51 (−3.30; 0.28), p = 0.101). We found no significant change in drug prescriptions over time. Difference in depression scores between cNHs and iNHs was statistically significant after 12 weeks. Conclusions: Our intervention did not affect QoL or drug prescriptions, but reduced depression scores in the iNHs. NorGeP–NH may be a useful tool, but its effect on clinical outcomes may be scarce in NH residents. Further studies about the effectiveness of NorGeP–NH in other healthcare contexts and settings are recommended.

Applicability of explicit potentially inappropriate medication lists to the Australian context: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To determine i) the similarity of potentially inappropriate medications specified in and between existing explicit lists and ii) the availability in Australia of medications included on existing lists to determine their applicability to the Australian context.

METHODS

This systematic review identified explicit potentially inappropriate medication lists that were published on EMBASE (1974 - April 2021), MEDLINE (1946 - April 2021) and Elsevier Scopus (2004 - April 2021). The reference lists of seven previously published systematic reviews were also manually reviewed. Lists were included if they were explicit, and the most recent version and the complete list were published in English. Lists based on existing lists were excluded if no new items were added. Potentially inappropriate medications identified on each list were extracted and compared to the medications available on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods and Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Schemes.

RESULTS

Thirty-five explicit published lists were identified. A total of 645 unique potentially inappropriate medications were extracted, of which 416 (64%) were available in Australia and 262 (41%) were subsided by the general Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Applicability of each explicit list ranged from 50-96% according to medications available in Australia and 25-83% according to medications available under subsidy.

CONCLUSIONS

Pooling data from different lists may help to identify potentially inappropriate medications that may be applicable to local settings. However, if selecting a list for use in the Australian context, consideration should also be given to the intended purpose and setting for application.

What factors empower general practitioners for early cancer diagnosis? A 20-country European Delphi Study

Background:

Some symptoms are recognised as red flags for cancer, causing the General Practitioner (GP) to refer the patient for investigation without delay. However, many early symptoms of cancer are vague and unspecific, and in these cases, a delay in referral risks a diagnosis of cancer that is too late. Empowering GPs in their management of patients that may have cancer is likely to lead to more timely cancer diagnoses.

Aim:

To identify the factors that affect European GPs’ empowerment in making an early diagnosis of cancer.

Methods:

This was a Delphi study involving GPs in 20 European countries. We presented GPs with 52 statements representing factors that could empower GPs to increase the number of early cancer diagnoses. Over three Delphi rounds, we asked GPs to indicate the clinical relevance of each statement on a Likert scale.

The final list of statements indicated those that were considered by consensus to be the most relevant.

Results:

In total, 53 GPs from 20 European countries completed the Delphi process, out of the 68 GPs who completed round one. Twelve statements satisfied the pre-defined criteria for relevance. Five of the statements related to screening and four to the primary/secondary care interface. The other selected statements concerned information technology (IT) and GPs’ working conditions. Statements relating to training, skills and working efficiency were not considered priority areas.

Conclusion:

GPs consider that system factors relating to screening, the primary-secondary care interface, IT and their working conditions are key to enhancing their empowerment in patients that could have cancer. These findings provide the basis for seeking actions and policies that will support GPs in their efforts to achieve timely cancer diagnosis.

Do prescription rates of psychotropic drugs change over three years from nursing home admission?

BACKGROUND

In this longitudinal study, we describe how psychotropic drugs (PTDs) are prescribed in nursing home (NH) patients from admission and over a 3-year period, to understand which clinical and environmental factors are associated with PTD prescription.

METHODS

We used data from the Resource Use and Disease Course in Dementia - Nursing Home (REDIC-NH) study, examining physical and mental health, dementia, and PTD prescription during a 3-year period from admission to a NH. Data were collected every six months. At baseline, we included 696 participants from 47 Norwegian NHs. We presented prevalence, incidence, and deprescribing rates of PTD prescriptions for each assessment point. We calculated the odds of receiving PTDs and used a generalized linear mixed model to analyze the variables associated with a change in odds throughout the 3-year period.

RESULTS

PTD prescriptions were frequent throughout the 3-year period. Antidepressants had the highest prescription rates (28.4%-42.2%). Every PTD category had the highest incidence rate between admission and six months, and antipsychotics had the highest values (49.4%). Deprescribing rates were comparable between assessment points. The odds of antipsychotic prescriptions were lower for older people (OR = 0.96, 95%CI:0.92-0.99, p = 0.023). People with more severe dementia had lower odds of being prescribed sedatives/hypnotics (OR = 0.89, 95%CI:0.85-0.94, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

PTDs, particularly antidepressants, are widely prescribed over time to NH patients. Older patients are less likely to receive antipsychotics. A higher severity of dementia decreases the odds of being prescribed sedatives/hypnotics. Close attention should be paid to PTD prescriptions during long-term NH stay to avoid prolonged and excessive treatment with these types of drugs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01920100 .

Ghent Older People's Prescriptions Community Pharmacy Screening (GheOP3S)-Tool Version 2: Update of a Tool to Detect Drug-Related Problems in Older People in Primary Care

Background

The Ghent Older People’s Prescriptions community Pharmacy Screening (GheOP³S)-tool was developed in 2016 as a screening tool to detect drug-related problems (DRPs) and to help in performing medication reviews in older people (≥ 65 years).

Objective

This study aimed to revise and update the GheOP³S-tool.

Methods

Users’ comments were collected to improve the usability and appropriateness of the original GheOP³S-tool, followed by a two-round modified Delphi process according to the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method. This included a literature review, a round zero meeting, a first written round (with 15 international and multidisciplinary experts) and a second face-to-face round (with 11 experts) to change, delete or add GheOP³S-criteria. An additional third round with 14 community pharmacists was organised to preserve criteria applicable in the current community pharmacy practice.

Results

The updated GheOP³S-tool consists of five lists of DRPs and a new addendum containing medications that should be avoided or used with caution in older people with reduced renal function. During the first two rounds, related criteria were grouped, 14 criteria were added and 17 criteria were deleted from the original tool. All criteria were deemed applicable in round 3. This led to a final tool (version 2) with 64 GheOP³S-criteria.

Conclusion

GheOP³S-criteria were revised and updated according to experts’ agreement on their clinical relevance and recent scientific evidence. Future studies should investigate the impact of pharmacist-led medication reviews with GheOP³S-tool version 2 on clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes in primary care.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40266-021-00862-6.

Effects of an interprofessional Quality Circle-Deprescribing Module (QC-DeMo) in Swiss nursing homes: a randomised controlled trial

Background

Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are common among nursing homes (NH) residents, as is polypharmacy. Deprescribing has emerged in the past decade as a safe and effective way to reduce the use of PIMs and improve patient outcomes. However, effective deprescribing interventions are expensive, as they require specialised staff and a great amount of time for each resident.

The Quality Circle Deprescribing Module (QC-DeMo) intervention was designed to be less resource-intensive than medication reviews, the current deprescribing gold standard. It consists of a QC session in which physicians, nurses, and pharmacists define a local deprescribing consensus for specific PIMs classes, which is then implemented in the NH. The intervention was trialled in a RCT, with the NH as unit of analysis.

Methods

After randomisation, intervention NHs enacted the QC-DeMo at the start of the follow-up year. The primary outcomes were the proportion of PIM galenic units and number of PIM defined daily dose per average resident and per day (DDD/res). PIM status was assessed by a combination of the 2015 Beers list and the Norwegian General Practice-Nursing Home criteria. Secondary outcomes were the number of DDD/res to avoid and to reevaluate; safety outcomes were mortality, hospitalisations, falls, and use of physical restraints. Outcomes were evaluated at follow-up using linear regression models, adjusting for the outcome baseline values.

Results

Fifty-eight NHs took part in the trial; no individual residents were recruited. The intervention did not reduce the primary outcomes, but a strong trend towards reduction was seen for the number of PIM DDD/res, which accounts for the doses used. PIM DDD/res to reevaluate were significantly reduced, mostly through a reduction in the use of proton-pump inhibitors. Falls and use of physical restraints were not affected, but a statistical interaction between the mission of the NH (geriatric unit or specialised dementia unit) and the intervention group was seen for mortality and hospitalisations.

Conclusions

The QC-DeMo intervention can reduce the use of some PIM classes, and could usefully complement other deprescribing interventions.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03688542), registered on 26.09.2018, retrospectively registered.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-021-02220-y.

An International Consensus List of Potentially Clinically Significant Drug-Drug Interactions in Older People

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to establish an explicit list of potentially clinically significant drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in people aged ≥65 years.

DESIGN

A preliminary list of potentially clinically significant DDIs was compiled, based on 154 DDIs identified from literature review. Subsequently, a 2-round online Delphi survey was undertaken with a multidisciplinary expert panel. A consensus meeting and a final round were conducted to validate the final DDI list and the scope of information provided.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Twenty nine experts, including geriatricians and clinical pharmacists from 8 European countries.

MEASURES

For each DDI, in the first 2 rounds, experts were asked to score the severity of potential harm on a 5-point Likert-type scale. DDIs were directly included on the final list if the median score was 4 (major) or 5 (catastrophic). DDIs with a median score of 3 (moderate) were discussed at a consensus meeting and included if ≥75% of participants voted for inclusion in the final round.

RESULTS

Consensus was achieved on 66 potentially clinically significant DDIs (28 had a median score of 4/5 and 48 of 3 in the Delphi survey). Most concerned cardiovascular, antithrombotic, and central nervous system drugs. The final list includes information on the mechanism of interaction, harm, and management. Treatment modification is recommended for three-quarters of DDIs.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

We validated a list of potentially clinically significant DDIs in older people, which can be used in clinical practice and education to support identification and management of DDIs or to assess prevalence in epidemiologic and intervention studies.

Drug interactions for elderly people with mental and behavioral disorders: a systematic scoping review

OBJECTIVES

To identify drug interactions of potentially inappropriate medications and mental and behavioral disorders, according to explicit potentially inappropriate medications criteria-based tools.

METHODOLOGY

A systematic scoping review was conducted in February 2020. Study characteristics, potentially inappropriate medications, drug interactions, rationale, and therapeutic management proposed were extracted. The commercialization and potentially inappropriate medications standard as essential in Brazil and in the world were identified. Therapeutic management was proposed for the most cited potentially inappropriate medications.

RESULTS

36 tools including 151 drug interactions, in addition to 132 potentially inappropriate medications with concerns related to six mental and behavioral disorders were identified. Cognitive impairment and dementia were the most frequently disorders reported and antipsychotics, anticholinergics, and benzodiazepines were the pharmacological classes more involved in the drug interactions. Despite the tools recommended risperidone and quetiapine when the use of antipsychotics were inevitable; levodopa + carbidopa for Parkinson's disease; and short and intermediate half-life benzodiazepines; the quality of the evidence needs to be assessed. In this review, sleep hygiene; deprescription; medication review; and clinical monitoring of adverse drug reactions are strongly recommended. In addition, to consider agomelatine, bupropion, moclobemide and melatonin as potential safer options for benzodiazepines.

CONCLUSION

Knowing the clinical conditions or risk morbidities associated with the use of potentially inappropriate medications and management of these medications for safer therapeutic equivalents or non-pharmacotherapeutic alternatives are relevant for patient safety.

The role of the State Drug Formulary of Ukraine in providing rational pharmacotherapy for elderly patients

Applying the Classification for Drug-Related Problems (DRPs) of the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (V 9.00, 2019) allowed to systematize the information on the use of drugs in elderly patients given in the Annex of the State Drug Formulary of Ukraine. As a result of this work, special warnings and recommendations of the State Drug Formulary were presented together with the possible causes for potential DRPs, which they allow to prevent. The lists of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) for the elderly (n = 98), drugs the dosage of which in patients of this age group should be adjusted (n = 127), and drugs that need monitoring (n = 108) were formed. The obtained results can serve as a basis for the development of a specialized geriatric tool to ensure rational pharmacotherapy, in particular in the provision of pharmaceutical care.

Use and Deprescribing of Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Frail Nursing Home Residents

BACKGROUND

The STOPPFrail criteria were developed to assist physicians in deprescribing medications among frail patients approaching end of life. We aimed to measure the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and to describe changes over time, using STOPPFrail, in frail nursing home residents (NHRs) with limited life expectancy included in a medication review trial.

METHODS

We conducted a post-hoc analysis of the COME-ON study, a cluster-controlled trial that evaluated the effect of a complex intervention on appropriateness of prescribing in Belgian nursing homes. We identified NHRs eligible for the application of STOPPFrail based on functional status, comorbidities, level of care and survival. PIM use was measured at baseline and at 8 months. Changes over time were compared in the control group (CG) and intervention group (IG).

RESULTS

At baseline, 308 NHRs met the STOPPFrail eligibility criteria, of whom 196 (64.1%) had one or more PIM. At 8 months, among the 218 NHRs who were alive, there was an absolute reduction in the prevalence of PIMs of 9.1% in the CG (p < 0.05) and 10.2% in the IG (p < 0.05). We found large reductions for some medications (e.g. proton pump inhibitors) but no reduction for others (e.g. calcium). The percentage of NHRs with one or more PIM discontinued without a new PIM initiated was higher in the IG than the CG but the difference was not significant (35.1% vs 23.6%, p = 0.127).

CONCLUSION

Among frail NHRs with poor survival prognosis, a significant and encouraging decrease in PIM prevalence over time was observed, probably facilitated by medication reviews. The overall prevalence of PIMs remained high, however.

Variation between nursing homes in drug use and in drug-related problems

BACKGROUND

Residents at nursing homes (NHs) are at particular risk for drug related harm. Regular medication reviews using explicit criteria for pharmacological inappropriateness and classification of drug related problems (DRPs) have recently been introduced as measures to improve the quality of medication use and for making the treatment more uniform across different institutions. Knowledge about variation in DRPs between NHs is scarce. To explore if increased attention towards more appropriate drug treatment in NHs have led to more uniform treatment, we have analyzed variations between different nursing homes' drug use and DRPs.

METHODS

Cross-sectional medication review study including 2465 long-term care residents at 41 NHs in Oslo, Norway. Regular drug use was retrieved from the patients' medical records. DRPs were identified by using STOPP/START and NORGEP criteria and a drug-drug interactions database. NHs were grouped in quartiles based on average levels of drug use. The upper and lower quartiles were compared using independent samples t-test and associations between drug use and DRPs were tested by logistic regression.

RESULTS

Patients' mean age was 85.9 years, 74.2% were women. Mean numbers of regular drugs per patient was 6.8 and varied between NHs from 4.8 to 9.3. The proportion of patients within each NH using psychotropic and analgesic drugs varied largely: antipsychotics from three to 50%, benzodiazepines from 24 to 99%, antidepressants from nine to 75%, anti-dementia drugs from no use to 42%, opioids from no use to 65% and paracetamol from 16 to 74%. Mean DRPs per patient was 2.0 and varied between NHs from 0.5 to 3.4. The quartiles of NHs with highest and lowest mean drugs per patient (7.7 vs. 5.7, p < 0.001) had comparable mean number of DRPs per patient (2.2 vs. 1.8, p = 0.2). Using more drugs and the use of opioids, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and antidepressants were associated with more DRPs.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of psychotropic and analgesic drugs was high and varied substantially between different NHs. Even if the use of more drugs, opioids and psychotropic drugs was associated with DRPs, no difference was found in DRPs between the NHs with highest vs. lowest drug use.

The impact of hospitalisation to geriatric wards on the use of medications and potentially inappropriate medications - a health register study

BACKGROUND

The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are associated with negative health effects for older adults. The purpose of this study was to apply national register data to investigate the impact of hospitalisation to geriatric wards in Norway on the use of medications and PIMs, and to compare two explicit PIM identification tools.

METHODS

We included 715 patients ≥65 years (mean 82.5, SD = 7.8) admitted to Norwegian geriatric wards in 2013 identified from The Norwegian Patient Registry, and collected their medication use from the Norwegian Prescription Database. Medication use before and after hospitalisation was compared and screened for PIMs applying a subset of the European Union (EU)(7)-PIM list and the Norwegian General Practice - Nursing Home (NORGEP-NH) list part A and B.

RESULTS

The mean number of medications increased from 6.5 (SD = 3.5) before to 7.5 (SD = 3.5) (CI:1.2-0.8, p < 0.001) after hospitalisation. The proportion of patients with PIMs increased from before to after hospitalisation according to the EU(7)-PIM list (from 62.4 to 69.2%, p < 0.001), but not according to The NORGEP-NH list (from 49.9 to 50.6%, p = 0.73). The EU(7)-PIM list and the NORGEP-NH list had more than 70% agreement on the classification of patients as PIM users.

CONCLUSIONS

Medication use increased after hospitalisation to geriatric wards. We did not find that geriatric hospital care leads to a general improvement in PIM use after hospitalisation. According to a subset of the EU(7)-PIM list, PIM use increased after hospitalisation. This increase was not identified by the NORGEP-NH list part A and B. It is feasible to use health register data to investigate the impact of hospitalisation to geriatric wards on medication use and PIMs.

Deprescribing in nursing homes: Protocol for nested, randomised controlled hybrid trials of deprescribing interventions

INTRODUCTION

Polypharmacy and the use of potentially inappropriate medication (PIMs) are frequent among nursing home (NH) residents, and are associated with adverse health outcomes like falls, hospitalisation and death. Deprescribing has been proposed as a way to curtail both problems; however, the best way to implement deprescribing and its real impact are still unclear. This article describes nested trials of two consecutive deprescribing interventions, the first at the NH level, and the second at the resident level.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The first intervention (QC-DeMo) will be a deprescribing module to be carried out in existing interprofessional quality circles in NHs, with the goal to develop a NH-wide deprescribing consensus. Its effects will be evaluated on the use of PIMs and on patient safety outcomes such as death, hospitalisation and falls. All NHs in the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg with an integrated pharmacy service will be eligible. The second intervention (IDeI), at the resident level, will be a deprescribing-focused medication review, resulting in the implementation of a deprescribing plan. Its effects will be evaluated on the use of PIMs and chronic medications, and on quality of life. This second trial will take place in the NHs allocated to the intervention group of the first trial. All residents of these NHs over 65 years old, living in the NH for at least 4 months, and taking 5 or more medications will be eligible to participate. Both trials will be hybrid effectiveness and implementation trials, aiming to understand the implementation process for the interventions, and to identify barriers and facilitators.

ETHICS, REGISTRATION AND FUNDING

Both trials were approved by the relevant ethics committee, registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (QC-DeMo: NCT03688542; IDeI: NCT03655405), and funded by the Swiss National Fund for Scientific Research.

A Stepwise Pharmacist-Led Medication Review Service in Interdisciplinary Teams in Rural Nursing Homes

Background: The provision of responsible medication therapy to old nursing home residents with comorbidities is a difficult task and requires extensive knowledge about optimal pharmacotherapy for different conditions. We describe a stepwise pharmacist-led medication review service in combination with an interdisciplinary team collaboration in order to identify, resolve, and prevent medication related problems (MRPs). Methods: The service included residents from four rural Norwegian nursing homes during August 2016–January 2017. All residents were eligible if they (or next of kin) supplied oral consent. The interdisciplinary medication review service comprised four steps: (1) patient and medication history taking; (2) systematic medication review; (3) interdisciplinary case conference; and (4) follow-up of pharmaceutical care plan. The pharmacist collected information about previous and present medication use, and clinical and laboratory values necessary for the medication review. The nurses collected information about possible symptoms related to adverse drug reactions. The pharmacist conducted the medication reviews, identified medication-related problems (MRPs) which were discussed at case conferences with the responsible physician and the responsible nurses. The main outcome measures were number and types of MRPs, percentage agreement between pharmacists and physicians and factors associated with MRPs. Results: The service was delivered for 151 (94%) nursing home residents. The pharmacist identified 675 MRPs in 146 (97%) medication lists (mean 4.0, SD 2.6, range 0–13). The MRPs most frequently identified concerned ‘unnecessary drug’ (22%), ‘too high dosage’ (17%) and ‘drug interactions’ (16%). The physicians agreed upon 64% of the pharmacist recommendations, and action was taken immediately for 32% of these. We identified no association between the number of MRPs and sex (p = 0.485), but between the number of MRPs, and the number of medications and the individual nursing homes. Conclusion: The pharmacist-led medication review service in the nursing homes was highly successfully piloted with many solved and prevented MRPs in interdisciplinary collaboration between the pharmacist, physicians, and nurses. Implementation of this service as a standard in all four nursing homes seems necessary and feasible. If such a service is implemented, effects related to patient outcomes, interdisciplinary collaboration, and health economy should be studied.

The updated PIM-Taiwan criteria: a list of potentially inappropriate medications in older people

Background:

Explicit criteria for potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) developed for other countries are difficult to apply to a specific territory. This study aimed to update the PIM-Taiwan criteria from a qualitative review of several published PIM criteria, followed by consensus among regional experts in Taiwan.

Methods:

After a review of the literature, we selected four sets of published PIM criteria to construct preliminary core PIMs. The Beers criteria, Fit fOR The Aged (FORTA), and Japan criteria were used for PIMs, without consideration of chronic diseases. The Beers criteria, Screening Tool of Older Persons’ Prescriptions (STOPP) criteria, and Japan criteria were used for PIMs with respect to chronic diseases. We asked experts (n = 24) to rate their agreement with each statement, including in the final PIM criteria, after two rounds of modified Delphi methods. The intraclass coefficient (ICC) was used to examine the reliability of the modified Delphi method.

Results:

Overall, two categories of PIMs were established: 131 individual drugs and 9 drugs with combinations that should generally be avoided; and 9 chronic diseases with their corresponding PIMs that have drug–disease interactions. The ICC estimates for PIMs to be avoided generally were 0.634 and 0.557 (round 1 and 2) and those for PIMs with respect to chronic diseases were 0.866 and 0.775 (round 1 and 2) of the Delphi method, respectively.

Conclusions:

The 2018 version of PIM-Taiwan criteria was established and several modifications were made to keep the criteria updated and relevant. Clinicians can use them to reduce polypharmacy and PIMs among older patients.

Sociodemographic, clinical and pharmacological profiles of medication misuse and dependence in hospitalised older patients in Norway: a prospective cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

Timely recognition of medication misuse and dependence is crucial to avoid both adverse drug events and increasing health expenditure. Yet the detection of these disorders in older people remains challenging due to the paucity of evidence on characteristics of patients at risk. This study investigates sociodemographic, pharmacological and clinical characteristics and factors associated with prolonged medication use, misuse and dependence in hospitalised older patients, focusing on three commonly prescribed central nervous system depressants (CNSDs): opioid analgesics, benzodiazepines and z-hypnotics.

DESIGN

A prospective, cross-sectional study complying with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines.

SETTING

Somatic departments of the Akershus University Hospital, Norway.

PARTICIPANTS

246 patients aged 65-90 were included.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Prolonged use was defined as using CNSDs for ≥4 weeks. Misuse and dependence were assessed with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition criteria for substance abuse and dependence. We used descriptive statistics to report patients' characteristics and logistic regression to demonstrate factors associated with prolonged use, and misuse or dependence.

RESULTS

Forty per cent of participants reported using CNSDs for ≥4 weeks. The odds of prolonged use were higher for patients aged 75-84 (OR=2.32, 95% CI 1.16 to 4.65) and ≥85 (OR=3.33, 95% CI 1.25 to 8.87) vs <75 years, for pain intensity (OR=1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.04), and polypharmacy versus no polypharmacy (OR=5.16, 95% CI 2.13 to 12.55). The odds were lower for patients who completed secondary education (OR=0.33, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.83) compared with those with only basic education. Factors associated with misuse or dependence were pain intensity (OR=1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.04) and concurrent use of ≥2 CNSDs (OR=3.99, 95% CI 1.34 to 11.88).

CONCLUSION

CNSD overuse is prevalent among hospitalised older patients, despite clear guidelines and recommendations. Our findings underline a need for stronger focus on responsible prescribing, timely detection and prevention of this issue, with special attention towards older patients, those with enhanced pain, polypharmacy and/or concurrent use of several CNSDs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03162081.

[Very elderly institutionalised population of Barcelona: Evaluation of frailty according to the Frail-VIG index and analysis of therapeutic appropriateness according to the STOPP-frail criteria]

INTRODUCTION

As frailty and multiple drug therapy often coexists in institutionalised elderly patients, it is important to assess the level of frailty and therapeutic appropriateness in this population group. The aim of the study is to: assess the frailty level of institutionalised elderly patients and to analyse their prescriptions.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

An observational and cross-sectional study of a geriatric population of 85 years or older, institutionalised in a nursing home in Barcelona. Frailty was assessed using the Frail-VIG index, and the adequacy of the prescription of each group was done according to the STOPP-Frail Criteria.

RESULTS

The study included 79 patients, with a mean age of 90.9±4.2 years. Most of them (96.2%) had some degree of frailty. Slight frailty was observed in 21.5%, moderate in 37.7%, and advanced in 38%. The patients were prescribed a median of 7 drugs. No statistically significant differences were found in the majority of the prescriptions of the frailty groups. Differences were only found for those who had difficulty taking the medication, those who took medication for prostatic hypertrophy, and nutritional supplements. In all 3 groups, it was found that up to one third of the prescription was inappropriate, and some were even contraindicated in the most frail patients.

CONCLUSION

The elderly study population has a high frailty index with a high prevalence of multiple drug therapy with inappropriate prescription. The poor individualisation of these prescriptions in relation to the level of frailty, especially in those with short life prognosis, is a situation that should be improved.

Applicability of EU(7)-PIM criteria in cross-national studies in European countries

BACKGROUND

The European Union (EU)(7)-PIM (potentially inappropriate medication) list presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date tool for evaluation of PIM prescribing in Europe; however, several country-specific studies have documented lower specificity of this list on pharmaceutical markets of some countries. The aim of our study was to describe approval rates and marketing of PIMs stated by EU(7)-PIM criteria in six EU countries [in comparison with the American Geriatric Society (AGS) Beers 2015 criteria].

METHODS

Research teams of six EU countries (Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Serbia, Hungary and Turkey) participated in this study conducted by WG1b EU COST Action IS1402 group in the period October 2015-November 2018. Data on approval rates of PIMs and their availability on pharmaceutical markets have been obtained from databases of national drug-regulatory institutes and up-to-date drug compendia. The EU(7)-PIM list and AGS Beers 2015 Criteria (Section 1) were applied.

RESULTS

PIMs from EU(7)-PIM list were approved for clinical use more often than those from the AGS Beers 2015 criteria (Section 1). Approval rates for EU(7)-PIMs ranged from 42.8% in Serbia to 71.4% in Spain (for AGS criteria only from 36.4% to 65.1%, respectively). Higher percentages of approved PIMs were documented in Spain (71.4%), Portugal (67.1%) and Turkey (67.5%), lower in Hungary (55.5%), Czech Republic (50.2%) and Serbia (42.8%). The majority of approved PIMs were also currently marketed in all countries except in Turkey (19.8-21.7% not marketed PIMs) and less than 20% of PIMs were available as over-the-counter medications (except in Turkey, 46.4-48.1%).

CONCLUSIONS

The EU(7)-PIM list was created for utilization in European studies; however, applicability of this list is still limited in some countries, particularly in Eastern and Central Europe. The EU project EUROAGEISM H2020 (2017-2021) that focuses on PIM prescribing and regulatory measures in Central and Eastern European countries must consider these limits.

Potentially inappropriate medications with risk of cardiovascular adverse events in the elderly: A systematic review of tools addressing inappropriate prescribing

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE

In the last decades, many lists have been developed to screen for inappropriate prescribing. However, information on which potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) could increase the cardiovascular risk in the elderly is not objectively presented. This review aimed to identify and quantify those PIMs by extracting information from published PIM-lists.

METHODS

In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement (PRISMA), a systematic review of PIM-lists was conducted. The search strategy was run in PubMed, MEDLINE and Google Scholar (1991-09/2017). All PIMs described in those lists were extracted and stratified by their potential cardiovascular risk (including major adverse cardiovascular events-MACE). The number of times each PIM was reported on those lists was also assessed.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

We identified 724 papers, and 24 were retained. From those, a total of 17 PIMs to be avoided by the elderly and 21 drug-disease interactions were retrieved. The reporting of PIMs with risk of cardiovascular adverse events was 15.3%, whereas the reporting of those with MACE risk was 7.2%. PIMs most frequently described were tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs; 12/24), centrally acting antiadrenergic agents (11/24), NSAIDs (7/24), antiarrhythmics (Class I and III; 6/24), peripherally acting antiadrenergic agents (6/24) and antithrombotic agents (5/24). Most frequently described PIMs with MACE risk were NSAIDs (7/24), antiarrhythmics (Class I and III) (7/24), selective calcium channel blockers with vascular effects (6/24) and antipsychotics (4/24).

WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION

Data suggest that PIM-lists focus mainly on common adverse events and often poorly describe the potential consequence for MACE occurrence. This systematic review could help healthcare professionals in the identification and deprescribing of these medicines in older patients with high cardiovascular risk during medication review.

Identifying potential prescribing safety indicators related to mental health disorders and medications: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Prescribing errors and medication related harm may be common in patients with mental illness. However, there has been limited research focusing on the development and application of prescribing safety indicators (PSIs) for this population.

OBJECTIVE

Identify potential PSIs related to mental health (MH) medications and conditions.

METHODS

Seven electronic databases were searched (from 1990 to February 2019), including the bibliographies of included studies and of relevant review articles. Studies that developed, validated or updated a set of explicit medication-specific indicators or criteria that measured prescribing safety or quality were included, irrespective of whether they contained MH indicators or not. Studies were screened to extract all MH related indicators before two MH clinical pharmacists screened them to select potential PSIs based on established criteria. All indicators were categorised into prescribing problems and medication categories.

RESULTS

79 unique studies were included, 70 of which contained at least one MH related indicator. No studies were identified that focused on development of PSIs for patients with mental illness. A total of 1386 MH indicators were identified (average 20 (SD = 25.1) per study); 245 of these were considered potential PSIs. Among PSIs the most common prescribing problem was 'Potentially inappropriate prescribing considering diagnoses or conditions' (n = 91, 37.1%) and the lowest was 'omission' (n = 5, 2.0%). 'Antidepressant' was the most common PSI medication category (n = 85, 34.7%).

CONCLUSION

This is the first systematic review to identify a comprehensive list of MH related potential PSIs. This list should undergo further validation and could be used as a foundation for the development of new suites of PSIs applicable to patients with mental illness.

[Inappropriate drug use in palliative care: SPANISH version of the STOPP-Frail criteria (STOPP-Pal)]

Multiple medication and inappropriate drug prescription are prevalent and challenging problems in older patients in end-of-life situations, and increases both preventable adverse events and health care costs. Recent literature recommends de-prescribing some drugs in patients with short life expectancy, when the aim of drug treatments is not prevention or cure, but symptom control. Recently, a list of explicit criteria (STOPP-Frail) intended to guide prescribing physicians in decision making on the use of drugs in older patients with terminal conditions. This article presents a Spanish version of such criteria, which have been named STOPP-Pal to avoid confusion with the current concept of frailty.

Assessing Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Nursing Home Residents by NORGEP-NH Criteria

Background: Nursing home residents often have several conditions that necessitate the use of multiple medicines. This study investigates the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and its associations with sex, age, number of medicines, and study location (rural/urban). Methods: A cross-sectional study of long-term care residents from six nursing homes. Data was collected from medical records. We identified PIMs by applying the NORGEP-NH criteria. We conducted a Poisson regression analysis to investigate the association between the number of PIMs and sex, age, number of medicines, and study location. Results: We included 103 (18.4%) of 559 residents (68.0% women; mean age 83.2 years, mean number of daily used medicines 7.2 (SD = 3.6)). We identified PIMs in 56% of the residents (mean number = 1.10, SD = 1.26). In adjusted analyses, residents ≥80 years had 0.43 fewer PIMs compared to residents <80 years (p < 0.05). Residents using 4–6, 7–9, and 10+ medicines had on average 0.73, 1.06, and 2.11 more PIMs compared to residents using 0–3 medicines (p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion: PIM use is prevalent among nursing home residents and is significantly associated with age and number of medicines. Our findings suggest a modest decrease in residents using PIMs compared to previous studies. Nevertheless, prescribing quality in nursing home residents in both urban and rural areas is still of great concern.

Drug use differs by care level. A cross-sectional comparison between older people living at home or in a nursing home in Oslo, Norway

Background

Drug consumption increases with age, but there are few comparisons of drug use between old people living at home or in a nursing home. To identify areas of concern as well as in need for quality improvement in the two settings, we compared drug use among people aged ≥70 years living at home or in a nursing home.

Methods

Cross-sectional observational study from Oslo, Norway. Information about drug use by people living at home in 2012 was retrieved from the Norwegian Prescription Database. Drug use in nursing homes was recorded within a comprehensive medication review during November 2011–February 2014. Prevalence rates and relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals were compared between uses of therapeutic groups with prevalence rates of ≥5%. Drug use was compared for the total population and by gender and age group.

Results

Older people (both genders) in nursing homes (n = 2313) were more likely than people living at home (n = 48,944) to use antidementia drugs (RR = 5.7), antipsychotics (RR = 4.0), paracetamol (RR = 4.0), anxiolytics (RR = 3.0), antidepressants (RR = 2.8), dopaminergic drugs (RR = 2.7), antiepileptic drugs (RR = 2.4), loop diuretics (RR = 2.3), cardiac nitrates (RR = 2.1) or opioids (RR = 2.0). By contrast, people living in a nursing home were less commonly prescribed statins (RR = 0.2), nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (RR = 0.3), osteoporosis drugs (RR = 0.3), thiazide diuretics (RR = 0.4), calcium channel blockers (RR = 0.5) or renin–angiotensin inhibitors (RR = 0.5). Each of the populations had only minor differences in drug use by gender and a trend towards less drug use with increasing age (p <  0.01).

Conclusions

Drug use by older people differs according to care level, and so do areas probably in need for quality improvement and further research. In nursing home residents, this relates to a probable overuse of psychotropic drugs and opioids. Among older people living at home, the probable overuse of NSAIDs and a possible underuse of cholinesterase inhibitors and osteoporosis drugs should be addressed.

Tools for Assessment of the Appropriateness of Prescribing and Association with Patient-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

There are tools and criteria in the literature aimed at distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate medicines use. However, many have not been externally validated with regard to patient-related outcomes, potentially limiting their use in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the study was to conduct a systematic review to summarise (1) available prescribing appropriateness assessment tools and criteria, and (2) their associations with patient-related outcomes (external validity).

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Informit (Health Collection) databases to screen for articles in English that examined (1) tools to assess the appropriateness of prescribing and (2) associations of tools with patient-related outcomes, published between 2000 and 2016, without any limits placed on the study design, participant age or setting.

RESULTS

After screening 1710 articles, removing duplicates and shortlisting relevant articles, 42 prescribing assessment tools were identified. Out of the 42 tools, 78.6% (n = 33) provided guidance around stopping inappropriate medications, 28.6% (n = 12) around starting appropriate medications, 61.9% (n = 26) were explicit (criteria based) and 31.0% (n = 13) had been externally validated, with hospitalisation being the most commonly used patient-related outcome (n = 9, 21.4%).

CONCLUSION

The results of this systematic review highlight the need for evidence-based and externally validated tools, which combine the different aspects of medication management to optimise patient-related outcomes. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42017067233.

Adequate, questionable, and inadequate drug prescribing for older adults at the end of life: a European expert consensus

Background

Clinical guidance is needed to initiate, continue, and discontinue drug treatments near the end of life.

Aim

To identify drugs and drug classes most often adequate, questionable, or inadequate for older people at the end of life.

Design

Delphi consensus survey.

Setting/participants

Forty European experts in geriatrics, clinical pharmacology, and palliative medicine from 10 different countries. Panelists were asked to characterize drug classes as “often adequate,” “questionable,” or “often inadequate” for use in older adults aged 75 years or older with an estimated life expectancy of ≤ 3 months. We distinguished the continuation of a drug class that was previously prescribed from the initiation of a new drug. Consensus was considered achieved for a given drug or drug class if the level of agreement was ≥ 75%.

Results

The expert panel reached consensus on a set of 14 drug classes deemed as “often adequate,” 28 drug classes deemed “questionable,” and 10 drug classes deemed “often inadequate” for continuation during the last 3 months of life. Regarding the initiation of new drug treatments, the panel reached consensus on a set of 10 drug classes deemed “often adequate,” 23 drug classes deemed “questionable,” and 23 drug classes deemed “often inadequate”. Consensus remained unachieved for some very commonly prescribed drug treatments (e.g., proton-pump inhibitors, furosemide, haloperidol, olanzapine, zopiclone, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).

Conclusion

In the absence of high-quality evidence from randomized clinical trials, these consensus-based criteria provide guidance to rationalize drug prescribing for older adults near the end of life.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s00228-018-2507-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing to Older Patients: Criteria, Prevalence and an Intervention to Reduce It: The Prescription Peer Academic Detailing (Rx-PAD) Study - A Cluster-Randomized, Educational Intervention in Norwegian General Practice

Potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIP) is drug treatment, which in general, at the group level for a median/mean patient, can be considered unfavourable meaning that the risks commonly may outweigh the benefits. This MiniReview reports and discusses the main findings in a large cluster-randomized educational intervention in Norwegian general practice, aimed at reducing the prevalence of PIPs to patients ≥70 years (The Rx-PAD study). Targets for the intervention were general practitioners (GPs) in continuing medical education (CME) groups receiving educational outreach visits (i.e. peer academic detailing). A Delphi consensus process, with a panel of medical experts, was undertaken to elaborate a list of explicit criteria defining PIPs for patients ≥70 years in general practice. Agreement was achieved for 36 explicit PIP criteria, the so-called Norwegian General Practice (NorGeP) criteria. Using a selection (n = 24) of these criteria during a 1-year baseline period on the prescribing practice of 454 GPs (i.e. those enrolled to participate in the intervention trial), we found a prevalence rate of 24.7 PIPs per 100 patients ≥70 years per year. In the Rx-PAD study, 449 GPs completed an educational intervention (96.6% of the included GPs), 250 in the intervention group and 199 in the control arm. Following the intervention, PIPs were reduced by 13% (95% CI 8.6-17.3), and the number of patients who were no longer exposed to one or more PIPs was reduced by 1173 (8.1%). The GPs who responded most strongly to the educational intervention were the oldest GPs (57-68 years), and these were the GPs with the highest prevalence of PIPs at baseline before the intervention.

Potentially inappropriate medication in the elderly: a systematic review of validated explicit criteria

PURPOSE

Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use causes preventable adverse drug reactions in older patients. Several assessment tools have been published to identify and avoid PIM use. In this systematic literature review, we aim to provide summaries and comparisons of validated PIMs lists published between 1991 and 2017 internationally.

METHODS

In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement (PRISMA), we performed a systematic review of articles describing the development and validation of criteria for identification of PIMs among older people published between January 1991 and April 2017. The searches were conducted on PUBMED, AgeLine, Academic Search, Academic Search Premier, and CINAHL. We identified the most common medications/classes described as PIM. We also identified the drug-disease interactions and drug-drug interactions reported among criteria.

RESULTS

From 2933 articles screened, 36 met our inclusion criteria. The majority used the Delphi method to validate their criteria. We identified 907 different medications/classes, 536 different drug disease interactions involving 84 diseases/conditions, and 159 drug-drug interactions. Benzodiazepines and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were the medications most commonly reported as potentially inappropriate for older people.

CONCLUSION

Although approaches aimed at detecting inappropriate prescribing have intensified in recent years, we observed limited overlap between different PIM lists. Additionally, some PIM lists did not provide special considerations of use and alternative therapies to avoid PIMs. These facts may compromise the use of PIM lists in clinical practice. Future PIM lists should integrate information about alternative therapies and special considerations of use in order to help clinicians in the drug prescription.

Interdisciplinary collaboration across secondary and primary care to improve medication safety in the elderly (IMMENSE study): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

Drug-related problems (DRPs) are common in the elderly, leading to suboptimal therapy, hospitalisations and increased mortality. The integrated medicines management (IMM) model is a multifactorial interdisciplinary methodology aiming to optimise individual medication therapy throughout the hospital stay. IMM has been shown to reduce readmissions and drug-related hospital readmissions. Using the IMM model as a template, we have designed an intervention aiming both to improve medication safety in hospitals, and communication across the secondary and primary care interface. This paper presents the study protocol to explore the effects of the intervention with regard to healthcare use, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and medication appropriateness in elderly patients.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A total of 500 patients aged ≥70 years will be included and randomised to control (standard care) or intervention group (1:1). The intervention comprises five steps mainly performed by pharmacists: (1) medication reconciliation at admission, (2) medication review during hospital stay, (3) patient counselling about the use of medicines, (4) a comprehensible and patient-friendly medication list with explanations in discharge summary and (5) postdischarge phone calls to the primary care level. The primary outcome is the difference between intervention and control patients in the rate of emergency medical visits (acute readmissions and visits to emergency department) 12 months after discharge. Secondary outcomes include length of index hospital stay, time to first readmission, mortality, hip fractures, strokes, medication changes, HRQoL and medication appropriateness. Patient inclusion started in September 2016.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The trial was approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data and the Norwegian Data Protection Authority. We aim to publish the results in international peer-reviewed open access journals, at national and international conferences, and as part of two PhD theses.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT02816086.

Drug-related problems and changes in drug utilization after medication reviews in nursing homes in Oslo, Norway

OBJECTIVE

We describe the drug-related problems (DRPs) identified during medication reviews (MRs) and the changes in drug utilization after MRs at nursing homes in Oslo, Norway. We explored predictors for the observed changes.

DESIGN

Observational before-after study.

SETTING

Forty-one nursing homes.

INTERVENTION

MRs performed by multidisciplinary teams during November 2011 to February 2014.

SUBJECTS

In all, 2465 long-term care patients.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

DRPs identified by explicit criteria (STOPP/START and NORGEP) and drug-drug interaction database; interventions to resolve DRPs; drug use changes after MR.

RESULTS

A total of 6158 DRPs were identified, an average of 2.6 DRPs/patient, 2.0 for regular and 0.6 for pro re nata (prn) drugs. Of these patients, 17.3% had no DRPs. The remaining 82.7% of the patients had on average 3.0 DRPs/patient. Use of unnecessary drugs (43.5%), excess dosing (12.5%) and lack of monitoring of the drug use (11%) were the most frequent DRPs. Opioids and psychotropic drugs were involved in 34.4% of all DRPs. The mean number of drugs decreased after the MR from 6.8 to 6.3 for regular drugs and from 3.0 to 2.6 for prn drugs. Patients with DRPs experienced a decrease of 1.1 drugs after MR (0.5 for regular and 0.6 for prn drugs). The reduction was most pronounced for the regular use of antipsychotics, antidepressants, hypnotics/sedatives, diuretics, antithrombotic agents, antacid drugs; and for prn use of anxiolytics, opioids, hypnotics/sedatives, metoclopramide and NSAIDs.

CONCLUSION

The medication review resulted in less drug use, especially opioids and psychotropic drugs.

Potentially inappropriate medication use in nursing homes: an observational study using the NORGEP-NH criteria

BACKGROUND

Frail residents in the nursing home sector call for extra care in prescribing. The Norwegian General Practice Nursing Home (NORGEP-NH) list of 34 explicit criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in nursing homes was developed explicitly for this population. The aim of this study was to employ the NORGEP-NH Criteria to study the extent of potentially inappropriate medication use among nursing home residents and explore possible associated factors.

METHODS

Cross-sectional observational pharmacoepidemiological study from residents in nursing homes in the county of Vestfold, Norway. Data collected 2009-11 included residents' demographic and clinical status and all medications, regular and on demand.

RESULTS

881 patients from 30 institutions (mean 85.9 years, 68.6% female), were included. According to NORGEP-NH, 43.8% were prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate regular medication, and 9.9% regularly received three or more potentially inappropriate medications. When also including a) the NORGEP-NH Deprescribing Criteria and b) including drugs prescribed for use as needed, 92.7% of all residents received medication that needs particular surveillance according to the NORGEP-NH. 69.7% of the nursing home residents used at least one psychotropic drug regularly. Female residents received more often than males at least one potentially inappropriate regular medication (OR 1.60, p=0.007). Regarding the prescription of three or more concomitant psychotropic medications, odds ratio for females was 1.79 (p=0.03) compared to males. Residents with the best performance in activities of daily living, and residents residing in long-term wards, had higher risk of using three or more psychotropic drugs. Use of multiple psychoactive drugs increased the risk of falls in the course of an acute episode of infection or dehydration (odds ratio 1.70, p=0.009).

CONCLUSIONS

Prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications in nursing homes according to the NORGEP-NH was extensive, and especially the use of multiple psychotropic drugs. The high prevalence found in this study shows that there is a need for higher awareness of medication use and side effects in the elderly population.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Retrospectively registered. Data obtained from clinical trial NCT01023763 registered with ClinicalTrials.gov 12/01/2009.