Prevalence of drug interactions in elderly patients with multimorbidity in primary care

Prevalence of Polypharmacy in Elderly Population Worldwide: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Polypharmacy (PP) is common in elderly population and associated with some adverse clinical outcomes and increases healthcare burdens. We performed this systemic review and meta-analysis to estimate worldwide prevalence of PP and explore associated factors in the elderly.

METHODS

The PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Ovid EMBASE databases were searched for studies published until May 30, 2022. We included observational studies representative of general patients aged ≥60 in which PP was defined as multiple drugs ≥5. Studies were excluded if only a particular group of the elderly population (e.g., with diabetes) were included. The primary outcome was the prevalence of PP. Random-effect models were employed to estimate the overall or variable-specific pooled estimates of PP. Secondary outcomes were hyperpolypharmacy (HPP, defined as multiple drugs ≥10) and PP prevalence based on different study years, genders, locations, populations, and so forth.

RESULTS

We included 122 original observational studies with an overall population of 57 328 043 individuals in the meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of PP and HPP in the elderly population worldwide was 39.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 35.5%-42.7%) and 13.3% (95% CI, 10.4%-16.5%), respectively. The prevalence of PP in Europe, Oceania, North America, Asia, and South America was 45.8% (95% CI, 41.5%-50.2%), 45.5% (95% CI, 26.7%-64.3%), 40.8% (95% CI, 29.8%-51.6%), 29.0% (95% CI, 20.0%-38.0%), and 28.4% (95% CI, 24.0%-32.8%), respectively (p < 0.01). Multivariate meta-regressions showed geographical regions of Europe or North America, age ≥70, and residence from nursing homes were independently associated with higher PP prevalence.

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly 40% of the elderly population is exposed to PP. The prevalence of PP is significantly higher in elderly individuals aged 70 or older, in developed regions and in nursing homes. It is important to focus on avoiding inappropriate PP in this population to address the growing burden of PP.

Interventions to improve medication adherence in adults with mental-physical multimorbidity in primary care: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Medication non-adherence is a notable contributor to healthcare inefficiency, resulting in poor medication management, impaired patient outcomes, and ineffective symptom control.

AIM

To summarise interventions targeting medication adherence for adults with mental-physical multimorbidity in primary healthcare settings.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A systematic review of the literature - published in any language and with any country of origin - was conducted.

METHOD

MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and the Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature - more commonly known as CINAHL - were searched for relevant studies. Data were extracted and synthesised using narrative synthesis. The Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) taxonomy was used to classify intervention types. Risk of bias was assessed using the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's quality assessment tool for controlled intervention studies.

RESULTS

Eleven studies, representing 2279 patients, were included. All interventions examined were classified into one EPOC domain, namely 'delivery arrangements'. All included studies examined patients who had a physical condition and depression. Seven studies examining interventions focused on coordination of care and management of care processes reported statistically significant improvements in medication adherence that were attributed to the intervention. Four studies considering the use of information and communication technology observed no changes in medication adherence.

CONCLUSION

Interventions that coordinate and manage healthcare processes may help improve patients' adherence to medication regimes in those with mental-physical multimorbidity. However, it is still necessary to better understand how digital health technology can support patients in following their medication regimes. As the growing challenges of treating multimorbidity are faced, everyone involved in health services - from providers to policymakers - must be receptive to a more integrated approach to healthcare delivery.

Defining, identifying and addressing problematic polypharmacy within multimorbidity in primary care: a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Polypharmacy and multimorbidity pose escalating challenges. Despite numerous attempts, interventions have yet to show consistent improvements in health outcomes. A key factor may be varied approaches to targeting patients for intervention.

OBJECTIVES

To explore how patients are targeted for intervention by examining the literature with respect to: understanding how polypharmacy is defined; identifying problematic polypharmacy in practice; and addressing problematic polypharmacy through interventions.

DESIGN

We performed a scoping review as defined by the Joanna Briggs Institute.

SETTING

The focus was on primary care settings.

DATA SOURCES

Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and Cochrane along with ClinicalTrials.gov, Science.gov and WorldCat.org were searched from January 2004 to February 2024.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

We included all articles that had a focus on problematic polypharmacy in multimorbidity and primary care, incorporating multiple types of evidence, such as reviews, quantitative trials, qualitative studies and policy documents. Articles focussing on a single index disease or not written in English were excluded.

EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS

We performed a narrative synthesis, comparing themes and findings across the collective evidence to draw contextualised insights and conclusions.

RESULTS

In total, 157 articles were included. Case-finding methods often rely on basic medication counts (often five or more) without considering medical history or whether individual medications are clinically appropriate. Other approaches highlight specific drug indicators and interactions as potentially inappropriate prescribing, failing to capture a proportion of patients not fitting criteria. Different potentially inappropriate prescribing criteria also show significant inconsistencies in determining the appropriateness of medications, often neglecting to consider multimorbidity and underprescribing. This may hinder the identification of the precise population requiring intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

Improved strategies are needed to target patients with polypharmacy, which should consider patient perspectives, individual factors and clinical appropriateness. The development of a cross-cutting measure of problematic polypharmacy that consistently incorporates adjustment for multimorbidity may be a valuable next step to address frequent confounding.

Informational continuity of medication management in transitions of care: Qualitative interviews with stakeholders from the HYPERION-TransCare study

BACKGROUND

The transition of patients between inpatient and outpatient care can lead to adverse events and medication-related problems due to medication and communication errors, such as medication discontinuation, the frequency of (re-)hospitalizations, and increased morbidity and mortality. Older patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy are particularly at high risk during transitions of care. Previous research highlighted the need for interventions to improve transitions of care in order to support information continuity, coordination, and communication. The HYPERION-TransCare project aims to improve the continuity of medication management for older patients during transitions of care.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

Using a qualitative design, 32 expert interviews were conducted to explore the perspectives of key stakeholders, which included healthcare professionals, patients and one informal caregiver, on transitions of care. Interviews were conducted between October 2020 and January 2021, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content analysis. We narratively summarized four main topics (stakeholders' tasks, challenges, ideas for solutions and best practice examples, and patient-related factors) and mapped them in a patient journey map. Lacking or incomplete information on patients' medication and health conditions, inappropriate communication and collaboration between healthcare providers within and across settings, and insufficient digital support limit the continuity of medication management.

CONCLUSIONS

The study confirms that medication management during transitions of care is a complex process that can be compromised by a variety of factors. Legal requirements and standardized processes are urgently needed to ensure adequate exchange of information and organization of medication management before, during and after hospital admissions. Despite the numerous barriers identified, the findings indicate that involved healthcare professionals from both the inpatient and outpatient care settings have a common understanding.

Assessment of Drug-Related Problems and Health-Related Quality of Life Domains in Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Aims of the Study

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and predictors of Drug-related problems (DRPs), as well as to evaluate the impact of DRPs on the health-related quality of life in geriatric patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methodology

A cross-sectional study was conducted over a three-month period. Patients aged 60 years and older visited diabetes clinics from October 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, were included in the study. Data were collected through structured questionnaires, whereas lab results, medication records, comorbidities, and the consequences of DRPs were collected from electronic medical records. DRPs were identified and classified using the PCNE V501 classification system. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was evaluated using the validated EuroQol criteria.

Results

A total of 491 patients participated in the study, and the mean age of the patients was 67.51 years (SD = 5.84 years). Female patients represented 52.34% of total subjects. A total of 461 (around 94%) experienced at least one drug-related problem (DRP), ranging from one to nine DRPs per patient, with a total number of DRPs equal to 1625 identified. The most common DRP was the drug choice problem, affecting 52.98% of patients. Factors such as high drug frequency, living conditions, the number of diabetes medications, comorbidities, and smoking were significantly associated with higher numbers of DRPs. Higher numbers of DRPs were found to significantly worsen health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients.

Conclusion

Geriatric individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus encounter a significant prevalence of DRPs, with drug choice problems being the most common followed by dosing problems. Risk factors contributing to these DRPs include high drug frequency, living conditions, high number of diabetes medications, multimorbidity, and smoking. Also, the study concluded that the increased number of DRPs was associated with negative impact on HRQoL domains in geriatric patients with type 2 diabetes.

Prevalence of Drug-Drug Interactions in Older Community-Dwelling Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) can lead to medication-related harm, and the older population is at greatest risk. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate DDI prevalence and identify common DDIs in older community-dwelling adults.

METHODS

PubMed and EMBASE were searched for observational studies published between 01/01/2010 and 10/05/2021 reporting DDI prevalence in community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 65 years. Nursing home and inpatient hospital studies were excluded. Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool. Meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model with logit transformation. Heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran's Q and I². DDI prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are presented. All analyses were performed in R (version 4.1.2).

RESULTS

There were 5144 unique articles identified. Thirty-three studies involving 17,011,291 community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 65 years met inclusion criteria. Thirty-one studies reported DDI prevalence at the study-participant level, estimates ranged from 0.8% to 90.6%. The pooled DDI prevalence was 28.8% (95% CI 19.3-40.7), with significant heterogeneity (p < 0.10; I² = 100%; tau² = 2.13) largely explained by the different DDI identification methods. Therefore, 26 studies were qualitatively synthesised and seven studies were eligible for separate meta-analyses. In a meta-analysis of three studies (N = 1122) using Micromedex^®, pooled DDI prevalence was 57.8% (95% CI 52.2-63.2; I² = 69.6%, p < 0.01). In a meta-analysis of two studies (N = 809,113) using Lexi-Interact^®, pooled DDI prevalence was 30.3% (95% CI 30.2-30.4; I² = 6.8%). In a meta-analysis of two studies (N = 947) using the 2015 American Geriatrics Society Beers criteria^®, pooled DDI prevalence was 16.6% (95% CI 5.6-40.2; I² = 97.5%, p < 0.01). Common DDIs frequently involved cardiovascular drugs, including ACE inhibitor-potassium-sparing diuretic; amiodarone-digoxin; and amiodarone-warfarin.

CONCLUSIONS

DDIs are prevalent among older community-dwelling individuals; however, the methodology used to estimate these events varies considerably. A standardised methodology is needed to allow meaningful measurement and comparison of DDI prevalence.

Drug Interactions: What Are Important Drug Interactions for the Most Commonly Used Medications in Preventive Cardiology?

Significant drug interactions contribute to hospitalizations, mortality, and health care costs. They often are preventable with a basic understanding of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. More than quarter of Americans above the age of 40 years take a statin, the most commonly used lipid-lowering therapy in modern times. Because of their pharmacokinetics, statins interact with numerous other drugs and substances, often in a manner that differs from statin to statin. This article provides an overview of important drug interactions for the most commonly used medications in preventive cardiology, with an emphasis on clinically significant interactions involving statins.

Drug–drug interactions among hospitalized elderly in patients at medical wards of Northwest Ethiopia’s Comprehensive Specialized Hospitals: A multicenter observational study

Objective:

Drug–drug interactions are of major concern due to links to untoward drug effects, hospitalizations, and serious health impacts. Elderly patients are more predisposed to drug interactions than younger patients. The present study aimed to find out the prevalence of drug–drug interactions at North West Ethiopian compressive specialized hospitals’ Internal Medicine wards.

Methods:

From 30 April to 30 July 2021 GC, a multicenter prospective observational study was conducted at north Ethiopian specialized hospitals. Data was collected by using a structured questionnaire adapted from different literature and medical records at the North West Ethiopian Comprehensive Specialized Hospitals’ Internal Medicine wards during the study period. Thereafter checked the completeness of the collected data was checked drug–drug interactions by using Medscape. Epi data version 4.6.2 software was used as data clearance and STATA version 14.1 was used for further data analysis.

Result:

A total of 389 subjects participated in the study of which more than half (55.53%) of them were female with a mean (SD) age of 68.9 ± 7.46 years. A total of 641 drug–drug interactions were detected in this investigation of which, 225(35.1%) were major, 299(46.6%) were significant interactions, and 117(18.3%) were minor interactions. Hospital stay (AOR = 5.95 CI: 3.49–10.12), retire (AOR = 6.71 CI: 1.26–35.78), 5–9 drugs (AOR = 5.30 CI: 2.91–9.67) and more than 10 drugs (AOR = 8.03 CI: 2.47–26.07) were important risk factors for drug–drug interactions.

Conclusion:

The findings of this study suggest that drug–drug interactions were high among hospitalized elderly patients. The presence of polypharmacy, to be retired, and hospital stayed were all found to be strongly linked with drug–drug interactions.

Prevalence of potentially harmful multidrug interactions on medication lists of elderly ambulatory patients

Background

It has been hypothesized that polypharmacy may increase the frequency of multidrug interactions (MDIs) where one drug interacts with two or more other drugs, amplifying the risk of associated adverse drug events (ADEs). The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of MDIs in medication lists of elderly ambulatory patients and to identify the medications most commonly involved in MDIs that amplify the risk of ADEs.

Methods

Medication lists stored in the electronic health record (EHR) of 6,545 outpatients ≥60 years old were extracted from the enterprise data warehouse. Network analysis identified patients with three or more interacting medications from their medication lists. Potentially harmful interactions were identified from the enterprise drug-drug interaction alerting system. MDIs were considered to amplify the risk if interactions could increase the probability of ADEs.

Results

MDIs were identified in 1.3 % of the medication lists, the majority of which involved three interacting drugs (75.6 %) while the remainder involved four (15.6 %) or five or more (8.9 %) interacting drugs. The average number of medications on the lists was 3.1 ± 2.3 in patients with no drug interactions and 8.6 ± 3.4 in patients with MDIs. The prevalence of MDIs on medication lists was greater than 10 % in patients prescribed bupropion, tramadol, trazodone, cyclobenzaprine, fluoxetine, ondansetron, or quetiapine and greater than 20 % in patients prescribed amiodarone or methotrexate. All MDIs were potentially risk-amplifying due to pharmacodynamic interactions, where three or more medications were associated with the same ADE, or pharmacokinetic, where two or more drugs reduced the metabolism of a third drug. The most common drugs involved in MDIs were psychotropic, comprising 35.1 % of all drugs involved. The most common serious potential ADEs associated with the interactions were serotonin syndrome, seizures, prolonged QT interval and bleeding.

Conclusions

An identifiable number of medications, the majority of which are psychotropic, may be involved in MDIs in elderly ambulatory patients which may amplify the risk of serious ADEs. To mitigate the risk, providers will need to pay special attention to the overlapping drug-drug interactions which result in MDIs.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-021-02594-z.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in Older Community-Dwelling Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Older patients are at increased risk of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) due to polypharmacy. Cardiovascular and central nervous system (CNS) drugs are commonly implicated in serious DDIs.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with potential 'severe' cardiovascular and CNS DDIs among older (≥ 70 years) community-dwellers.

METHODS

This was a prospective cohort study using linked data from a national pharmacy claims database and waves 1 and 2 of The Irish LongituDinal study on Ageing (TILDA). 'Severe' cardiovascular and CNS DDIs were identified using the British National Formulary 77 and Stockley's Drug Interactions. The prevalence of 'severe' DDIs (any DDI vs. none) was calculated. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between sociodemographic, functional ability, and medication-related factors and the risk of DDI exposure between waves 1 and 2.

RESULTS

A total of 1466 patients were included [mean age (standard deviation) = 78 (5.5) years; female n = 795, 54.2%]. In total, 332 community-dwellers aged ≥ 70 years [22.65%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 20.58-24.86] were potentially exposed to at least one 'severe' cardiovascular or CNS DDI, with more than half (54.82%) of this cohort dispensed the same DDI for a prolonged time (≥ 3 consecutive claims). Aspirin-warfarin was the most frequently dispensed (co-prescribed) DDI (n = 34, 10.24%, 95% CI 7.39-14.00), followed by atorvastatin-clarithromycin (n = 19, 5.72%, 95% CI 3.64-8.81). Polypharmacy [≥ 10 vs. < 5 drugs, odds ratio (OR) 13.40, 95% CI 8.22-21.85] and depression (depressed vs. not, OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.34-3.34) were significantly associated with these DDIs, after multivariable adjustment.

CONCLUSION

'Severe' cardiovascular and CNS DDIs are prevalent in older community-dwellers in Ireland, and those with polypharmacy and depression are at a significantly increased risk.

'Just keep taking them, keep hoping they'll work': A qualitative study of adhering to medications for multimorbidity

OBJECTIVE

Compared to single diseases, health psychology reflects many areas of medical research by affording relatively less attention to the experiences of people self-managing multiple co-occurring conditions and, in particular, the experience of managing the associated complex medication regimens. This study aimed to explore the experience of self-managing multimorbidity among older adults, with a focus on medication adherence.

DESIGN

A qualitative approach was taken, using individual semi-structured interviews.

METHODS

Sixteen people with complex multimorbidity aged 65 years or older were recruited through general practice to take part in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed following guidelines for reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Two themes were generated, with each theme comprising three subthemes. Theme one represents the amplified burden arising from multimorbidity that leads to unique challenges for self-management, such as integrating multiple medications into daily life, accumulating new symptoms and treatments, and managing evolving medication regimens. Theme two represents pathways towards relief that reduce this burden and promote medication adherence, such as prioritising certain conditions and treatments, resigning to the need for multiple medications, and identifying and utilising adherence supports.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified factors relevant to medication adherence for older adults with multimorbidity that go beyond single-disease influences and account for the amplified experience of chronic disease that multimorbidity can produce for some people. While evidence of single-disease influences remains fundamental to tailoring behavioural interventions to individuals, the impact of multimorbidity on medication adherence should be accounted for in research and practice.

Prevalence of drug-drug interactions in older people before and after hospital admission: analysis from the OPERAM trial

Background

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are highly prevalent in older patients but little is known about prevalence of DDIs over time. Our main objective was to assess changes in the prevalence and characteristics of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) during a one-year period after hospital admission in older people, and associated risk factors.

Methods

We conducted a sub-study of the European OPERAM trial (OPtimising thERapy to prevent Avoidable hospital admissions in Multimorbid older people), which assessed the effects of a structured medication review (experimental arm) compared to usual care (control arm) on reducing drug-related hospital readmissions. All OPERAM patients (≥70 years, with multimorbidity and polypharmacy, hospitalized in four centers in Bern, Brussels, Cork and Utrecht between December 2016 and October 2018, followed over 1 year) who were alive at hospital discharge and had full medication data during the index hospitalization (at baseline i.e., enrolment at admission, and at discharge) were included. DDIs were assessed using an international consensus list of potentially clinically significant DDIs in older people. The point-prevalence of DDIs was evaluated at baseline, discharge, and at 2, 6 and 12 months after hospitalization. Logistic regression models were performed to assess independent variables associated with changes in DDIs 2 months after baseline.

Results

Of the 1950 patients (median age 79 years) included, 1045 (54%) had at least one potentially clinically significant DDI at baseline; point-prevalence rates were 58, 57, 56 and 57% at discharge, and 2, 6 and 12 months, respectively. The prevalence increased significantly from baseline to discharge (P < .001 [significant only in the control group]), then remained stable over time (P for trend .31). The five most common DDIs –all pharmacodynamic in nature– accounted for 80% of all DDIs and involved drugs that affect potassium concentrations, centrally-acting drugs and antithrombotics. At 2 months, DDIs had increased in 459 (27%) patients and decreased in 331 (19%). The main factor predictive of a change in the prevalence of DDIs was hyperpolypharmacy (≥10 medications).

Conclusions

DDIs were very common; their prevalence increased during hospitalization and tended to remain stable thereafter. Medication review may help control this increase and minimize the risk of adverse drug events.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-021-02532-z.

Drug interactions detected by a computer-assisted prescription system in primary care patients in Spain: MULTIPAP study

Background

Drug interactions increase the risk of treatment failure, intoxication, hospital admissions, consultations and mortality. Computer-assisted prescription systems can help to detect interactions.

Objectives

To describe the drug–drug interaction (DDI) and drug–disease interaction (DdI) prevalence identified by a computer-assisted prescription system in patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Factors associated with clinically relevant interactions were analysed.

Methods

Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study in primary health care centres was undertaken in Spain. The sample included 593 patients aged 65–74 years with multimorbidity and polypharmacy participating in the MULTIPAP Study, recruited from November 2016 to January 2017. Drug interactions were identified by a computer-assisted prescription system. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses with logistic regression models and robust estimators were performed.

Results

Half (50.1% (95% CI 46.1–54.1)) of the patients had at least one relevant DDI and 23.9% (95% CI 18.9–25.6) presented with a DdI. Non-opioid–central nervous system depressant drug combinations and benzodiazepine–opioid drug combinations were the two most common clinically relevant interactions (10.8% and 5.9%, respectively). Factors associated with DDI were the use of more than 10 drugs (OR 11.86; 95% CI 6.92–20.33) and having anxiety/depressive disorder (OR 1.98; 95% CI 1.31–2.98). Protective factors against DDI were hypertension (OR 0.62; 95% CI 0.41–0.94), diabetes (OR 0.57; 95% CI 0.40–0.82), and ischaemic heart disease (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.25–0.74).

Conclusion

Drug interactions are prevalent in patients aged 65–74 years with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. The clinically relevant DDI frequency is low. The number of prescriptions taken is the most relevant factor associated with presenting a clinically relevant DDI.

Collaborative Medication Reviews to Identify Inappropriate Prescribing in Pre-Admission Medications at Emergency Department Short-Term Ward

PURPOSE

Collaborative medication reviews (CMR) have been shown to reduce inappropriate prescribing (IP) in various settings. This study aimed at describing a CMR practice in an emergency department (ED) short-term ward in Finland to investigate IP in pre-admission medications.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Pre-admission medications were collaboratively reviewed for all the adult ED admissions within a 5-month study period in 2016. Types of IP were inductively categorized, and descriptive statistics were used to show the incidence and type of IP events.

RESULTS

The pre-admission medications of 855 adult ED patients were reviewed by the pharmacist, with 113 IP events identified in 83 (9.7%) of the patients. The majority (81%, n=67) of these patients were older adults (≥65 years). Of these 94 IP events identified in 67 older patients, 58 (62%) were confirmed by the ED physicians. The following 3 main categories were inductively developed for the types of identified and confirmed IP events: 1) Misprescribing (prescription of medications that significantly increase the risk of adverse drug events); 2) Overprescribing (prescription of medications for which no clear clinical indications exist); and 3) Underprescribing (omission of potentially beneficial medications that are clinically indicated for treatment or prevention of a disease). Misprescribing was the most common type of IP identified (79% of the identified and 72% confirmed IP events). Benzodiazepines (29%) and antidepressants (28%) were involved in 33 out of 58 (57%) confirmed IP events. Medications with strong anticholinergic effects were involved in 19% of the confirmed IP events.

CONCLUSION

The CMR practice was able to identify IP in pre-admission medications of about one-tenth of ED patients. Older patients using benzodiazepines and drugs with strong anticholinergic effects should be paid special attention to ED admissions.

Drug-drug Interactions with Warfarin: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

AIM

The objective of this paper is to systematically review the literature on drug-drug interactions with warfarin, with a focus on patient-important clinical outcomes.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the International Pharmaceutical Abstract (IPA) databases were searched from January 2004 to August 2019. We included studies describing drug-drug interactions between warfarin and other drugs. Screening and data extraction were conducted independently and in duplicate. We synthesized pooled odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), comparing warfarin plus another medication to warfarin alone. We assessed the risk of bias at the study level and evaluated the overall certainty of evidence using GRADE.

RESULTS

Of 42,013 citations identified, a total of 72 studies reporting on 3,735,775 patients were considered eligible, including 11 randomized clinical trials and 61 observational studies. Increased risk of clinically relevant bleeding when added to warfarin therapy was observed for antiplatelet (AP) regimens (OR=1.74; 95% CI 1.56, 1.94), many antimicrobials (OR=1.63; 95% CI 1.45, 1.83), NSAIDs including COX-2 NSAIDs (OR=1.83; 95% CI 1.29, 2.59), SSRIs (OR=1.62; 95% CI 1.42, 1.85), mirtazapine (OR=1.75; 95% CI 1.30, 2.36), loop diuretics (OR=1.92; 95% CI 1.29, 2.86), and others. We found a protective effect of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) against warfarin-related gastrointestinal (GI) bleedings (OR=0.69; 95% CI 0.64, 0.73). No significant effect on thromboembolic events or mortality of any drug group used with warfarin was found, including single or dual AP regimens.

CONCLUSIONS

This review found low to moderate certainty evidence supporting the interaction between warfarin and a small group of medications, which result in increased bleeding risk. PPIs are associated with reduced hospitalization for upper GI bleeding for patients taking warfarin. Further studies are required to better understand drug-drug interactions leading to thromboembolic outcomes or death.

Medication-related problems in older people in Catalonia: A real-world data study

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to determine medication-related problems (MRPs) in primary care patients over 65 years of age.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study based on the electronic health records of patients (65-99 years of age) visited in 284 primary health care centers during 2012 in Catalonia.

VARIABLES

age, sex, sociodemographic variables, number of drugs, kidney and liver function and MRPs (duplicate therapy, drug-drug interactions, potentially inappropriate medications [PIMs] and drugs contraindicated in chronic kidney disease and in liver diseases). Unconditional logistic regression models were used to identify the factors associated with MRPs in patients with multimorbidity.

RESULTS

916 619 older people were included and 853 085 of them met the criteria for multimorbidity. Median age was 75 years and 57.7% of them were women. High percentages of MRPs were observed: PIMs (62.8%), contraindicated drugs in chronic kidney disease (12.1%), duplicate therapy (11.1%), contraindicated drugs in liver diseases (4.2%), and drug-drug interactions (1.0%). These numbers were higher in the subgroup of patients with ≥10 diseases. The most common PIMs were connected to drugs that increase the risk of fall (66.8%), antiulcer agents without criteria for gastroprotection (40.6%), and the combination of drugs with anticholinergic effects (39.7%). In the multivariate analysis, the variables associated with all MRPs among the patients with multimorbidity were the number of drugs and the number of visits.

CONCLUSIONS

The coexistence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy is associated with an elevated risk of MRPs in older people. Medication safety for older patients constitutes a pressing concern for health services.

Shaping the Future of Digitally Enabled Health and Care

People generally need more support as they grow older to maintain healthy and active lifestyles. Older people living with chronic conditions are particularly dependent on healthcare services. Yet, in an increasingly digital society, there is a danger that efforts to drive innovations in eHealth will neglect the needs of those who depend on healthcare the most—our ageing population. The SHAPES (Smart and Healthy Ageing through People Engaging in Supportive Systems) Innovation Action aims to create an open European digital platform that facilitates the provision of meaningful, holistic support to older people living independently. A pan-European pilot campaign will evaluate a catalogue of digital solutions hosted on the platform that have been specifically adapted for older people. ‘Medicines control and optimisation’ is one of seven themes being explored in the campaign and will investigate the impact of digital solutions that aim to optimise medicines use by way of fostering effective self-management, while facilitating timely intervention by clinicians based on remote monitoring and individualised risk assessments powered by artificial intelligence. If successful, the SHAPES Innovation Action will lead to a greater sense of self-sufficiency and empowerment in people living with chronic conditions as they grow older.

Drug-disease interactions in Swedish senior primary care patients were dominated by non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs and hypertension - a population-based registry study

OBJECTIVE

Drug-disease interactions (DDSIs) are present when a drug prescribed for one disease worsens a concomitant disease. The prevalence of DDSIs in older patients in primary care is largely unknown, as well as to what extent physicians individualize drug prescribing in relation to concomitant diseases. We therefore analysed the prevalence of DDSIs in older patients in primary care and explored to what extent physicians take possible DDSIs into account when prescribing. Design and Setting: Cross-sectional population-based register study in primary care in Region Stockholm, Sweden. Thirty-one DDSIs derived from Irish STOPP-START-Criteria were assessed. We derived data from a regional administrative healthcare database including information on all healthcare consultations and dispensed prescription drugs in the region. Data on demography, diagnoses, drug dispensations and healthcare consumption were extracted. Drugs were assessed during 2016.

SUBJECTS

A total of 336,295 patients aged ≥65 registered with one of the 206 primary care practices in Region Stockholm.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Prevalence and prevalence differences for DDSIs.

RESULTS

In 10.8% of older patients, at least one DDSI was observed. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were implicated in more than 75% of cases. The most common DDSI was NSAID/hypertension (8.1%), followed by NSAID/cardiovascular disease and loop diuretics/urinary incontinence (both 0.7%). The use of NSAIDs among patients with heart failure or impaired renal function was 15% lower than among patients without these diseases.

CONCLUSION

DDSIs were present in every tenth older patient in primary care. Patients with cardiovascular disease receive NSAIDs to a lower extent, possibly indicating physician awareness of DDSI. Key points Evidence on the prevalence of drug-disease interactions in older patients in primary care is sparse despite their potential to cause harm. In this study, we found that every 10th older patient attending primary care had at least one drug-disease interaction. Interactions with NSAIDs were far more common than interactions with other drugs. The use of NSAIDs among patients with heart failure or impaired renal function was 15% lower than among patients without these diseases.

Pharmacists' responses to cues and concerns of polypharmacy patients during clinical medication reviews-A video observation study

OBJECTIVE

The research questions of this study are 1) How do pharmacists respond to negative emotions of patients during a clinical medication review (CMR)? 2) How do patients express negative emotions during a CMR? 3) Who (pharmacist or patient) initiates a negative emotion to be discussed during a CMR?

METHODS

We used video-recordings to observe 132 CMR interviews of 49 pharmacists. Videos were coded with the Verona coding definitions on emotional sequences(-provider responses) (VR-CoDES(-P)).

RESULTS

In total 2538 negative emotions were identified, mainly expressed as cues (95.0 %). Often cues were expressed as verbal hints to hidden concerns (33.2 %) or were related to cognitive or physical causes (28.3 %).Three-quarters of the negative emotions were elicited by patients. 2670 pharmacists' responses were coded. The most common response was non-explicit providing space (77.6 %) and the least common response was explicit reducing space (5.8 %).

CONCLUSION

Pharmacists are mainly non-explicitly providing space in their responses. While this hinders their ability to capture patients' problems it also may enable patients to initiate topics.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Pharmacists are able to respond to patients' negative emotions. Training should focus on developing pharmacist's skills to be more explicit in their responses to get more in-depth knowledge of patients' problems.

Prevalence of drug interactions in hospitalised elderly patients: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in hospital settings is variable, and elderly patients are considered a high risk population for DDIs. There are no systematic reviews describing the prevalence of DDIs in hospitalised elderly patients.

OBJECTIVES

To assess and summarise the available data on the prevalence of DDIs in hospitalised elderly patients and to describe which drugs, drug classes and drug combinations are most commonly involved in DDIs.

DATA SOURCE

A systematic electronic literature search was conducted on Medline/PubMed, Embase, Lilacs, SciElo, Web of Science, Cinahl, Scopus, Cochrane, OpenGrey, Capes Thesis Bank, OasisBR, OpenAire and abstracts from scientific events, without limitation on language or period of publication. Study selection was completed on 21 September 2018.

STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS

Original observational studies that reported the prevalence of actual or potential DDIs during hospitalisation in patients aged 60 years or older were included. The main outcome measure was prevalence of DDIs and number of DDIs per patient. Subgroup analysis was performed in studies that reported the prevalence of DDIs in geriatric units.

STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS

Study quality was assessed using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality methodological checklist for cross sectional and prevalence studies.

RESULTS

34 studies were included, involving 9577 patients. The prevalence of DDIs ranged from 8.34% to 100%. In studies conducted in geriatric units, the prevalence ranged from 80.5% to 90.5%. The number of DDIs per patient ranged from 1.2 to 30.6. Single drugs most commonly involved in DDIs were furosemide, captopril, warfarin and dipyrone. Drug classes mostly involved were potassium sparing diuretics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors.

LIMITATIONS

The main limitation is the heterogeneity between the included studies that precluded a meta-analysis. Several different methods were used to identify DDIs, majorly, and potential DDIs. Few studies have reported measures to control the quality of the collected data.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS

The prevalence of DDIs ranged widely, and the variation may reflect differences in the conditions of the elderly patients and level of attention (or complexity of care), as well as methodological differences, especially the methods and/or software used to identify DDIs.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42018096720.

The Finnish Interprofessional Medication Assessment (FIMA): baseline findings from home care setting

PURPOSE

Medication-related problems and declined functional capacity are closely associated factors among older people. The purpose of this study is to describe the procedure of interprofessional medication assessment in home care context and the baseline characteristics of the study population.

METHODS

The FIMA study was a randomized, controlled intervention study comparing general practitioner-led interprofessional medication assessment and usual care. Patients' chronic diagnoses and medication use as well as physical and cognitive functions were investigated. Performance in daily activities, use of care services and help from family and relatives, self-rated health and health-related quality of life, and adverse effects commonly related to medication were assessed.

RESULTS

The home care patients (n = 512) had significant disease burden and functional limitations. The mean number of all medicines was 15 and that of regularly taken medicines 10. The majority of patients (87%) had excessive polypharmacy. The most commonly used (97%) ATC medicine class was nervous system medicines. Clinically relevant (class C or D SFINX record) drug-drug interactions were seen in 74% of the patients. The most frequent risks of adverse effects were risk of bleeding (66%), constipation (58%) and orthostatism (54%) occurring in over half of the patients. Medicines affecting renal function were used by 85% of the patients.

CONCLUSIONS

There is an evident need and justification for medication assessments in home care. In most cases, home care patients fulfill the criteria for regular medication assessments.

Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing and Potential Clinically Significant Drug-Drug Interactions in Older Outpatients: Is There Any Association?

Background and Objectives: The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence rate of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP), by using the Screening Tool of Older Person's potentially inappropriate Prescriptions (STOPP) criteria in older outpatients, and its association with potential clinically significant drug-drug interactions (csDDIs). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study included 248 outpatients ≥65 years old divided into two groups depending on the presence of csDDIs. For estimating the clinical significance of csDDIs we used Medscape's "Drug Interaction Checker". We applied the thirty PIP indicators from the STOPP criteria. Results: The presence of PIP (25.00%; all patients) was significantly higher in the group with potential csDDIs compared to the other group (43 vs. 19, respectively; Chi-square test, χ2 = 9.947; p < 0.01). The most common PIP included the inappropriate use of proton pump inhibitors, long acting benzodiazepines, usage of thiazide diuretic in patients with gout, and duplication of therapeutic class. Patients with potential csDDIs had 43 potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) prescribed. Out of this number, 12 (27.91%) PIMs were identified to participate in potential csDDIs. There was a correlation between the number of medications prescribed and the number of PIMs (ρ = 0.297; p < 0.01) and between the number of PIPs and the number of potential csDDIs (ρ = 0.170; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Older outpatients with potential csDDIs in relation to those with no potential csDDIs had significantly more prescribed drugs in total as well as inappropriate drugs. Almost 30% of these PIMs were included in potential csDDIs.

Countrywide prevalence of critical drug interactions in Hungarian outpatients: a retrospective analysis of pharmacy dispensing data

Background

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) present a significant source of adverse drug reactions. Despite being one of the commonly cited risks to patient safety, prevention of DDIs still poses a challenge to healthcare systems. The prevalence of DDIs can be used as a quality indicator for the safety of prescribing. With the analysis of drug utilization databases, real-world data on critical DDIs can be obtained. The aim of this study was to establish a list of critical DDIs and estimate their prevalence in the Hungarian outpatient population.

Methods

Since there is no conclusive and generally accepted repository of high-risk DDIs, a systematic search of the literature for consensus-based lists was performed. Based on these results and their analysis with 5 interaction compendia, we propose a simple methodology to identify critical combinations. Present study focused on DDIs which are (1) of high clinical importance thus being most likely to cause significant harm if not detected, (2) well-supported by available evidence and (3) affect drugs which are routinely dispensed in the community pharmacy setting. A retrospective analysis of prescriptions filled between 2013 and 2016 was performed. The source of drug utilization data was the IQVIA’s national prescription fill database. The number of interacting drug pairs dispensed at the same time to the same patient was established.

Results

After excluding drugs with low dispensing rates, the analysis covered 39 DDIs. The distribution of risk categories of the analysed DDIs was inconsistent among different drug interaction compendia. The total number of prescriptions filled varied between 173924449 and 176368468 per year. The prevalence of the selected potential DDIs ranged from 0.00 to 355.89 per 100000 prescriptions per year. There was significant variation between how the number of cases had changed for each DDI throughout the study period, no general tendency could have been described.

Conclusions

There were 1.8 million cases of co-dispensing each year, where prescribers’ and community pharmacists’ role in recognizing and managing potentially serious interactions was or would have been critical. The method presented to identify high-risk DDIs can serve as a starting point for the much-needed improvement of routine interaction screening.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s40360-019-0311-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

All-cause mortality and antipsychotic use among elderly persons with high baseline cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk: a multi-center retrospective cohort study in Italy

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the comparative risk of death with atypical or conventional antipsychotics (APs) among persons with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease (CCD).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

A cohort study was conducted using five Italian claims databases. New atypical AP users with CCD aged ≥65 (reference) were matched to new conventional AP users. Mortality per 100 person-years (PYs) and hazard ratios (HR), estimated using Cox models, were reported. Incidence and risk of death were estimated for persons having drug-drug interactions. Outcome occurrence was evaluated 180 days after AP initiation.

RESULTS

Overall 24,711 and 27,051 elderly new conventional and atypical AP users were identified. The mortality rate was 51.3 and 38.5 deaths per 100 PYs for conventional and atypical AP users. Mortality risk was 1.33 (95%CI: 1.27-1.39) for conventional APs. There was no increased mortality risk with single drug-drug interactions (DDIs) vs. no DDI. AP users with ≥1 DDI had a 29% higher mortality risk compared to no DDI in the first 90 days of treatment (HR: 1.29 (95% CI: 1.00-1.67)).

CONCLUSIONS

Conventional APs had a higher risk of death than atypical APs among elderly persons with CCD. Having ≥1 DDI was associated with an increased risk of death.

[Clinical and socio-sanitary characteristics in adults older than 65 years attended in the Primary Care setting. The PYCAF study]

OBJECTIVE

To describe the clinical and socio-sanitary characteristics of adults older than 65 years attended in a Primary Care setting.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The PYCAF study (Prevalence and Characteristics of the Fragile Elderly) is a descriptive, cross-sectional and multicentre study, in which patients older than 65 years attended in clinical practice in Primary Care in Spain were consecutively included.

RESULTS

A total of 2,461 patients (mean age 76.0±6.9 years, 57.9% women) were included in the study. The coexistence of cardiovascular risk factors and comorbidities was frequent, with arterial hypertension (73.7%) being the most prevalent, followed by dyslipidaemia (58.3%), arthrosis (56.4%), obesity (34.0%), and diabetes (28.9%). Some degree of cognitive impairment was observed in 13.4% of patients. Women had higher rates of frailty (61.0% vs. 51.8%; P<.001). Just under half (47.4%) of subjects were taking more than 6 drugs, with the prescription being higher in women (44.2% vs. 49.8%; P=.047). Just under half (49.5%) of patients made more than 10 visits to Primary Care, 25.9% of patients 4 or more visits to the specialist, and 22.3% of patients were admitted to hospital in the last year.

CONCLUSIONS

The PYCAF study shows that elderly patients have a higher prevalence of chronic cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular diseases, which leads to high polypharmacy. The latter has consequences both on patient safety and on the direct and indirect costs of the National Health System that emanate from the care of patients over 65 years of age. Half the sample has fragility.

Multimorbidity in patients with chronic migraine and medication overuse headache

OBJECTIVES

Patients with chronic migraine (CM) display a considerable amount of comorbidities, particularly psychiatric and cardiovascular, and the presence of multiple comorbidities, that is, the so-called multimorbidity, is a risk factor for migraine chronification or maintenance of CM. Our aim was to address the rate and impact of multimorbidity in patients with CM and medication overuse headache (MOH).

MATERIALS & METHODS

In a sample of patients with CM attending a structured withdrawal for coexisting MOH, we defined multimorbidity as the presence of two or more conditions in addition to CM-MOH. We compared patients with and without multimorbidity for demographic and clinical variables, quality of life, and disability; we also tested whether patients with multimorbidity had higher likelihood to attend emergency room, relapse into CM, and require further withdrawal treatments by 12 months.

RESULTS

One hundred and ninety-four patients were enrolled as follows: 61% had at least one comorbidity, the most common being mental (34%), circulatory (18%), and endocrine conditions (13%); 32% were multimorbidity cases. Patients with multimorbidity had higher headaches frequency, older age, lower education and lower employment rates, higher disability and lower QoL. They were more frequently opioids/barbiturates overusers and were more likely to attend ER (OR: 2.36), relapse into CM (OR: 2.19), and undergo another withdrawal (OR: 2.75) by 12 months after discharge, after controlling for age, gender, years of education, and headache frequency.

CONCLUSIONS

Recognizing multimorbidity in patients with CM-MOH is important to enhance the management of these complex patients, who are at risk of polypharmacy and increased health care utilization.

Potentially inappropriate use of furosemide in a very elderly population: An observational study

OBJECTIVE

Little is known about furosemide prescription modalities in elderly people. We describe furosemide prescription in ambulatory elderly patients.

METHODS

All patients aged over 80 years, affiliated to Mutualité Sociale Agricole de Bourgogne, a French regional health insurance plan, with a medical prescription delivered in March 2015, were retrospectively included.

RESULTS

Among 15 141 patients with a median age of 86 years, comprising 61.3% of women, 3937 patients (26%) had a prescription for furosemide. Severe heart failure was the most common chronic comorbidity (27.7%). Furosemide was considered a long-term therapy for almost all patients (98.7% with prescriptions for 3 months or more). Recommended indications for long-term furosemide therapy included severe heart failure (50.9%), chronic nephropathy (3%) and cirrhosis (0.1%). The furosemide prescription rate increased with age (81-85: 20.4%, 86-90: 28.5%, 91-95: 35.6%, >95: 42.7%, P<.001), and the increase was associated with a decrease in recommended heart failure therapeutics (beta-blockers, angiotensin-conversion-enzyme-inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor-blockers). Prescribers were mostly general practitioners (81.3%). Plasma electrolytes were controlled in less than a half of the patients with furosemide.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large study, long-course furosemide was prescribed in a quarter of ambulatory patients. Half of those taking furosemide suffered from severe heart failure. Age was associated with a linear increase in furosemide use and a decrease in recommended heart failure therapeutic prescriptions. A large part of these prescriptions do not seem to be in accordance with recommendations.