The lesser of two evils: a qualitative study of quetiapine prescribing by family physicians

Medical practitioners' experiences and considerations when managing sleep medication for adolescents and young adults

INTRODUCTION

The prevalence of sleep disorders and use of sleep medication, particularly melatonin, are rising among adolescents and young adults (13-24 years). In Denmark, melatonin is approved for use in children with autism and ADHD up to 18 years of age, with other prescriptions being off-label in these age groups. The perspectives of medical practitioners on prescribing sleep medications to this age group remain largely unexplored.

AIM

This study aims to investigate the considerations of general practitioners (GPs) and child and adolescent psychiatrists (psychiatrists) when prescribing and deprescribing sleep medications for 13-24-year-olds.

METHODS

We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with 10 GPs and six psychiatrists. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach.

RESULTS

Psychiatrists typically prescribed melatonin with the expectation that deprescription would occur in general practice. Despite the universal goal of deprescription, it was hindered by various challenges. GPs identified patient motivation and a clear focus on deprescription as facilitative factors and expressed a need for enhanced emphasis on these aspects in general practice.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The findings align with existing prescription trends and literature on factors that promote and inhibit deprescription. The study underscores the complexities of deprescribing sleep medications for adolescents and young adults, suggesting the need for expanded guidelines and enhanced continuing education for GPs.

CONCLUSIONS

The research highlights significant discrepancies among medical practitioners regarding the deprescription process of sleep medications for young individuals, complicated by multiple factors. This underscores the need for better guidelines and further studies.

An investigation of psychoactive polypharmacy and related gender-differences in older adults with dementia: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Older adults living with dementia may express challenging responsive behaviours. One management strategy is pharmacologic treatment though these options often have limited benefit, which may lead to multiple treatments being prescribed.

METHODS

The aim of the present study was to describe psychoactive medication polypharmacy and explore factors associated with psychoactive polypharmacy in a cohort of older adults living with dementia in Nova Scotia, Canada, including a gender-stratified analysis. This was a retrospective cohort study of those aged 65 years or older with a recorded diagnosis of dementia between 2005 and 2015. Medication dispensation data was collected from April 1, 2010, or dementia diagnosis (cohort entry) to either death or March 31, 2015 (cohort exit). Psychoactive medication claims were captured. Psychoactive medication polypharmacy was defined as presence of three or more psychoactive prescription medications dispensed to one subject and overlapping for more than 30 days. Psychoactive polypharmacy episodes were described in duration, quantity, and implicated medications. Regression analysis examined factors associated with experience and frequency of psychoactive polypharmacy. All analysis were stratified by gender.

RESULTS

The cohort included 15,819 adults living with dementia (mean age 80.7 years; 70.0% female), with 99.4% (n = 15,728) receiving at least one psychoactive medication over the period of follow-up. Psychoactive polypharmacy was present in 19.3% of the cohort. The gender specific logistic regressions demonstrated that for both men and women a younger age was associated with an increased risk of psychoactive polypharmacy (women: OR 0.97, 95%CI[0.96, 0.98], men: OR 0.96, 95%CI[0.95, 0.97]). Men were less likely to experience psychoactive polypharmacy if their location of residence was urban (OR 0.86, 95%CI[0.74, 0.99]). There was no significant association between location of residence (urban or rural) and psychoactive polypharmacy for women living with dementia. Antidepressants were the most dispensed medication class, while quetiapine was the most dispensed medication.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that of adults living with dementia those of younger ages were more likely to experience psychoactive polypharmacy and that men living with dementia in rural locations may benefit from increased access to non-pharmacological options for dementia management.

Management of sleep disorder by preceptors in a family medicine residency program in Calgary, Alberta: a mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND

Most prescriptions for sedative-hypnotics are written by family physicians. Given the influence of preceptors on residents' prescribing, this study explored how family physician preceptors manage sleeping problems.

METHODS

Family physician preceptors affiliated with a postgraduate training program in Alberta were invited to participate in this mixed-methods study, conducted from January to October 2021. It included a quantitative survey of preceptors' attitudes to treatment options for sleep disorder, perceptions of patient expectations and self-efficacy beliefs. Participants indicated their responses on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." Respondents were then asked whether they were interested in participating in a semistructured qualitative interview that elicited preceptors' management of sleep disorder in response to a series of vignettes. We analyzed the quantitative data using descriptive statistics and the qualitative interviews using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Of the 76 preceptors invited to participate, 47 (62%) completed the survey, and 10 were interviewed. Thirty-two survey respondents (68%) were in academic teaching clinics, and 15 (32%) were from community clinics. The majority of participants (34 [72%]) agreed they had sufficient expertise to use nondrug treatment. Most (43 [91%]) had made efforts to reduce prescribing, and 45 (96%) felt able to support patients empathically when not using sleeping medication. The qualitative data showed that management of sleeping disorder was emotionally challenging. Participants hesitated to prescribe sedatives and reported "exceptions" to prescribing, many of which included indications within guideline recommendations. Participants were reluctant to change a colleague's management.

INTERPRETATION

Preceptors were confident using nonpharmacologic management to treat sleep disorder and hesitant to use sedative-hypnotics, presenting legitimate use of sedatives as exceptional behaviour. Acknowledging social norms and affective aspects involved in prescribing may support balanced prescribing of sedative-hypnotics for sleep disorder and reduce physician anxiety.

Scales for Antipsychotic-Associated Movement Disorders: Systematic Review, Critique, and Recommendations

BACKGROUND

Antipsychotic-associated movement disorders remain common and disabling. Their screening and assessment are challenging due to clinical heterogeneity and different use of nomenclature between psychiatrists and neurologists.

OBJECTIVE

An International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society subcommittee aimed to rate psychometric quality of severity and screening instruments for antipsychotic-associated movement disorders.

METHODS

Following the methodology adopted by previous International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society subcommittee papers, instruments for antipsychotic-associated movement disorders were reviewed, applying a classification as "recommended," "recommended with caveats," "suggested," or "listed."

RESULTS

Our review identified 23 instruments. The highest grade of recommendation reached is "recommended with caveats," assigned to seven severity rating instruments (Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale, Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale, Abnormal Involuntary Movements Scale, Drug-Induced Extra-Pyramidal Symptoms Scale, Maryland Psychiatric Research Centre involuntary movements scale, Simpson Angus Scale, and Matson Evaluation of Drug Side effects). Only three of these seven (Drug-Induced Extra-Pyramidal Symptoms Scale, Maryland Psychiatric Research Centre, Matson Evaluation of Drug Side effects) were also screening instruments. Their main caveats are insufficient demonstration of psychometric properties (internal consistency, skewing, responsiveness to change) and long duration of administration. Eight "suggested" instruments did not meet requirements for the "recommended" grade also because of insufficient psychometric validation. Other limitations shared by several instruments are lack of comprehensiveness in assessing the spectrum of antipsychotic-associated movement disorders and ambiguous nomenclature.

CONCLUSIONS

The high number of instruments "recommended with caveats" does not support the need for developing new instruments for antipsychotic-associated movement disorders. However, addressing the caveats with new psychometric studies and revising existing instruments to improve the clarity of their nomenclature are recommended next steps. © 2023 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Adverse events with quetiapine and clarithromycin coprescription: A population-based retrospective cohort study

Background and Aims

Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic predominantly metabolized by the cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) enzyme. We studied the risk of adverse events following coprescription of clarithromycin (a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor) versus azithromycin (not a CYP3A4 inhibitor) in quetiapine users.

Materials and Methods

This was a population-based retrospective cohort study from 2004 to 2020 in Ontario, Canada in adult quetiapine users newly co-prescribed clarithromycin (n = 16,909) or azithromycin (n = 25,267). The primary outcome was the composite of hospital encounters with encephalopathy (defined as a diagnosis of delirium, disorientation, transient alteration of awareness, transient ischemic attack, or unspecified dementia), a fall, or a fracture within 30 days of new coprescription. Secondary outcomes were individual components of the composite outcome, hospital encounter with computed tomography (CT) head scan, and all-cause mortality.

Results

Coprescription of clarithromycin versus azithromycin with quetiapine was associated with a higher risk of the primary composite outcome (365 of 16,909 clarithromycin users [2.2%] vs. 309 of 16,929 azithromycin users [1.8%]; absolute risk increase, 0.34% [95% confidence interval, CI, 0.04-0.63]; relative risk [RR], 1.19 [95% CI, 1.02-1.38]). This was primarily driven by an increase in fragility fractures (78 of 16,909 clarithromycin users [0.5%] vs. 45 of 16,923 azithromycin users [0.3%]; absolute risk increase, 0.20% [95% CI, 0.07-0.32]; RR, 1.74 [95% CI, 1.21-2.52]). Hospital encounters with a CT head scan were higher in clarithromycin users (220 of 16,909 [1.3%] vs. 175 of 16,923 azithromycin users [1.0%]; absolute risk increase, 0.27% [95% CI, 0.04-0.50]; RR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.04-1.54]), but there was no difference in hospital encounters with encephalopathy, falls, or all-cause mortality between macrolide groups.

Conclusion

Among adults taking quetiapine, concurrent use of clarithromycin compared with azithromycin was associated with a small but statistically greater 30-day risk of a hospital encounter for encephalopathy, falls, or fracture, which was predominantly related to a higher rate of fragility fractures.

Effects of quetiapine on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Quetiapine is a common off-label antipsychotic drug for treating insomnia. Its effects in different disease conditions and dosages remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis in clinical trials examining the efficacy of low-dose quetiapine in sleep. We obtained 21 clinical trials. Mean difference (MD), standard mean difference (SMD), and odds ratio (OR) were used to estimate the effect sizes using a random-effects model. The pooled results showed that quetiapine improved sleep quality compared with placebo (SMD: -0.57 [95%CI: -0.75, -0.4]). The SMD of sleep quality was correlated with age (coefficient: -0.0174) and sex (coefficient: -0.012). The significant effects were observed in the general anxiety disorder (SMD: -0.59 [95%CI: -0.92, -0.27]), major depressive disorder (SMD: -0.47 [95%CI: -0.66, -0.28]), and healthy (SMD: -1.33, [95%CI [-2.12, -0.54]) subgroups, at the dosage of 50 mg (SMD: -0.36 [95%CI: -0.36, -0.11]), 150 mg (SMD: -0.4 [95%CI: -0.52, -0.29]), and 300 mg (SMD: -0.17 [95%CI: -0.31,-0.04]). Quetiapine increased total sleep time compared with placebo (MD: 47.91 [95%CI: 28.06, 67.76]) but not when compared with other psychiatric drugs (MD: -4.19 [95%CI: -19.43, 11.05]). Adverse events (AEs) and discontinuation due to AEs were common among the quetiapine users. Quetiapine is effective as a sleep-helping drug. Precaution is suggested when interpreting the results on the elderly due to the high heterogeneity caused by incorporating patients over 66 years in the meta-analyses. We recommend an initial dosage of 50-150 mg/day with priority consideration for the elderly with GAD or MDD while monitoring its potential AEs.

Patterns of Antipsychotic Dispensation to Long-Term Care Residents

OBJECTIVES

To describe dispensing patterns of antipsychotic medications to long-term care (LTC) residents and assess factors associated with continuation of an antipsychotic after a fall-related hospitalization.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Nova Scotia Seniors Pharmacare Program (NSSPP) beneficiaries age 66 years and older who resided in LTC and received at least 1 dispensation of an antipsychotic within the study period of April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2017.

METHODS

Linkage of administrative claims data from the NSSPP and the Canadian Institute of Health Information Discharge Abstract Database identified LTC residents with an antipsychotic dispensation and from the subgroup of those dispensed antipsychotic medications who experienced a fall-related hospitalization. Antipsychotic dispensing patterns were reported with counts and means. Predictors of continuation of an antipsychotic after a fall-related hospitalization (sex, length of stay, days supplied, age, year of admission, rural/urban) were reported and analyzed with multiple logistic regression.

RESULTS

There were 19,164 unique NSSPP beneficiaries who were dispensed at least 1 prescription for an antipsychotic medication. Of those who received at least 1 antipsychotic dispensation 90% (n = 17,201) resided in LTC. A mean of 40% (n = 2637) of LTC residents received at least 1 antipsychotic dispensation in each year. Risperidone and quetiapine were dispensed most frequently. Of the 544 beneficiaries residing in LTC who survived a fall-related hospitalization, 439 (80.7%) continued an antipsychotic after hospital discharge. Female sex [OR 1.7, 95% CI (1.013‒2.943)], age 66‒69 [OR 4.587, 95% CI (1.4‒20.8)], 75-79 [OR 2.8, 95% CI (1.3‒6.3)], and 80‒84 years [OR 3.1, 95% CI (1.6‒6.4)] (compared with age 90+ years) were associated with increased risk of antipsychotic continuation.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

With 90% of antipsychotic dispensations in Nova Scotia being to LTC residents and 40% of LTC residents being dispensed antipsychotics in any year there is a need to address this level of antipsychotic dispensation to older adults.

Characteristics and predictors of off-label use of antipsychotics in general population sample

OBJECTIVE

Increasing number of people have been prescribed antipsychotics (APs) off-label in recent decades. This study aimed to identify the characteristics and predictors of receiving prescription of antipsychotics off-label.

METHODS

The study sample was part of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (n = 7071). Data included questionnaires and national register data. Information on prescribed medications was extracted from the national register. The sample was divided into three groups: Persons who had been prescribed APs off-label (n = 137), individuals with non-psychotic mental disorders without APs off label (n = 1478) and individuals who had been diagnosed with psychosis or bipolar disorder and who had been prescribed APs (n = 151). We compared sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical characteristics between the off-label and the comparison groups using logistic regression.

RESULTS

The most common diagnoses in the off-label group were depression (n = 96, 70.1%) and anxiety (n = 55, 40.1%). Compared with individuals with non-psychotic mental disorders who were not prescribed APs off-label, individuals with prescribed off-label APs had a lower level of education, lower socioeconomic status, were less often married, had a higher level of somatic and psychiatric morbidity, were more often smokers and more often had a substance abuse disorder and heavy alcohol consumption. When comparing the off-label group to individuals with psychosis or bipolar disorder who used APs, there were less differences, though individuals with psychosis or bipolar disorder had more markers of morbidity and a lower level of education.

CONCLUSION

Individuals who had been prescribed APs off label had a higher level of mental and somatic morbidity and poorer socioeconomic status than individuals with non-psychotic mental disorders who did not use APs.

Who prescribes quetiapine in Denmark?

The second‐generation antipsychotic quetiapine is commonly used off‐label for its anxiolytic and hypnotic properties. However, quetiapine is associated with problematic side‐effects. We used Danish Medicinal Product Statistics and a 20% random sample of the Danish population's prescription fills (2001–2020) to describe the utilization of quetiapine and proportion of various prescriber types (general practitioner [GP], specialist in private practice, hospital physician and other prescribers) both in connection to first‐time and subsequent prescriptions. In 2020, 92% of all quetiapine was dispensed outside hospitals and the average daily dispensed quantity of quetiapine per user corresponded to 100 mg/user/d. A GP issued 53% of first‐time prescriptions and 75% of subsequent prescriptions for quetiapine in 2020. The proportion of quetiapine prescriptions issued by GPs varied by age group—from 14% among 0–17‐year‐olds to 93% among the ≥80‐year‐olds. Future initiatives on the rational use of quetiapine and related drugs, especially among adults, should target GPs.