[How potentially inapropriate are psychotropic drugs prescribing in acute psychiatric unit for the elderly? Results from a large multicentric audit in France]

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a major public health issue, especially when it comes to the elderly. Potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) are one of the causes of ADRs in older people. A PIP can be defined as a prescription for which the benefit/risk ratio is unfavourable compared to other therapeutic alternatives. Psychotropic drugs are the second highest risk class for ADRs in the elderly. In order to reduce the prevalence of PIP, prescription assistance tools have been created. An inventory of PIP of psychotropic drugs in older patients hospitalized in psychiatry units was carried out in a French regional setting in 2019. A criteria grid was established based on 2 tools: STOPP/START criteria and Laroche's list adapted to French practice. This grid targeted each class of psychotropic drugs, drugs with a high anticholinergic burden and non-recommended combinations of psychotropic drugs. Three hundred forty-seven patients were included. A high prevalence of PPI was found for each class of psychotropic drugs. The highest prevalence of PPI was found among benzodiazepines (90.3%): long-term prescription, long half-life drugs, respiratory insufficiency or cognitive impairment condition. 56.5% of the subjects had a not-recommended combination of psychotropic drugs (prescription of drugs of the same pharmacotherapeutic class), 26% had a PIP of antipsychotics: prescription for insomnia, use of phenothiazine, 11.8% of drugs with anticholinergic properties and 7.4% of antidepressants: especially prescription of tricyclic drugs. These results obtained on a large population underline the interest of considering the specificities of prescriptions in the elderly. It shows both the interest and the limits of the current criteria defining the PIP in the context of a hospitalization in psychiatry for an acute disorder in elderly subjects.

The Prevalence and Risks of Inappropriate Combination of Aspirin and Warfarin in Clinical Practice: Results From WARFARIN-TR Study

Background

The use of warfarin and aspirin in combination is restricted to limited patients under relevant guidelines.

Aims

To evaluate the prevalence of the inappropriate combination of aspirin and warfarin therapy in daily practice and its risks.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

The awareness, efficacy, safety, and time in the therapeutic range of warfarin in the Turkish population study is a multi-center observational study that includes 4987 patients using warfarin for any reason between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. To determine the prevalence of inappropriate combination use in daily practice, all patients who had a history of atherosclerotic disease (ischemic heart disease, peripheral artery disease) or cerebrovascular disease (n=1498) were excluded. The data of 3489 patients were analyzed. We defined inappropriate combination as all patients who received aspirin and warfarin regardless of the indication for warfarin use, under the direction of the European Society of Cardiology guideline recommendation.

Results

The mean age of patients was 59.2±13.8 years (41.8% male). The prevalence of the inappropriate use of warfarin and aspirin combination was 20.0%. The prevalence of combination therapy in patients with a primary indication for mechanical heart valve, non-valvular atrial fibrillation, and other reasons was 20.5%, 18.7%, and 21.0%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio, 1.009; 95% confidence interval, 1.002-1.015; p=0.010), heart failure (odds ratio, 1.765; 95% confidence interval, 1.448-2.151; p<0.001), smoking (odds ratio, 1.762; 95% confidence interval, 1.441-1.153; p<0.010), chronic kidney disease (odds ratio, 2.057; 95% confidence interval, 1.494-2.833; p<0.001), and deep vein thrombosis (odds ratio, 0.463; 95% confidence interval, 0.229-0.718; p=0.001) were independent predictors of combination therapy (r2=0.66). The mean time in therapeutic range of patients receiving combination therapy was significantly lower than in those on warfarin monotherapy (51.6±27.05 vs. 54.7±23.93; p=0.006). Overall, 19.4% (n=677) of patients had a bleeding event (major bleeding 13.0%, n=88) within a year. Percentages of patients with combination therapy were significantly higher in patients with major bleeding than in patients without major bleeding (29.5% vs. 19.7%; p=0.023).

Conclusion

Our study demonstrated that 20.0% of patients taking warfarin use concomitant aspirin inappropriately in daily practice. Patients receiving aspirin with warfarin were demonstrated to have more comorbidities, lower time in therapeutic range levels, and higher bleeding rates.