What Should I Know About Medication Deprescribing?

This JAMA Internal Medicine Patient Page describes the process of slowly and carefully cutting down on unnecessary medications with the guidance of a health care professional.

Supine headache and papilledema: A case and review of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis

Key clinical message

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) should be on the differential for intracranial hypertension, and the preferred diagnostic tests are CT venogram or MR venography.

Abstract

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a rare cause of stroke and is on the differential for intracranial hypertension. Non-contrast head CT is often normal. CT venogram or MR venography are the preferred diagnostic tests, as was required in our patient. We review the presentation, diagnosis, and management of CVST.

Support for health care workers and psychological distress: thinking about now and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

INTRODUCTION

This study explores the relationship between emotional support, perceived risk and mental health outcomes among health care workers, who face high rates of burnout and mental distress since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, multicentred online survey of health care workers in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic evaluated coping strategies, confidence in infection control, impact of previous work during the 2003 SARS outbreak and emotional support. Mental health outcomes were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, the Impact of Event Scale - Revised and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).

RESULTS

Of 3852 participants, 8.2% sought professional mental health services while 77.3% received emotional support from family, 74.0% from friends and 70.3% from colleagues. Those who felt unsupported in their work had higher odds ratios of experiencing moderate and severe symptoms of anxiety (odds ratio [OR] = 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.84-2.69), PTSD (OR = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.58-2.25) and depression (OR = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.57-2.25). Nearly 40% were afraid of telling family about the risks they were exposed to at work. Those who were able to share this information demonstrated lower risk of anxiety (OR = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.48-0.69), PTSD (OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.41-0.56) and depression (OR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.47-0.65).

CONCLUSION

Informal sources of support, including family, friends and colleagues, play an important role in mitigating distress and should be encouraged and utilized more by health care workers.

Reducing Sedative-Hypnotics Among Hospitalized Patients: a Multi-centered Study

BACKGROUND

Sedative-hypnotics are frequently prescribed for insomnia in hospital but are associated with preventable harms.

OBJECTIVE, DESIGN, AND PARTICIPANTS

We aimed to examine whether a sedative-hypnotic reduction quality improvement bundle decreases the rate of sedative-hypnotic use among hospitalized patients, who were previously naïve to sedative-hypnotics. This interrupted time series study occurred between May 2016 and January 2019. Control data for 1 year prior to implementation and intervention data for at least 16 months were collected. The study occurred on 7 inpatient wards (general medicine, cardiology, nephrology, general surgery, and cardiovascular surgery wards) across 5 teaching hospitals in Toronto, Canada.

INTERVENTION

Participating wards implemented a sedative-hypnotic reduction bundle (i.e., order set changes, audit-feedback, pharmacist-enabled medication reviews, sleep hygiene, daily sleep huddles, and staff/patient/family education) aimed to reduce in-hospital sedative-hypnotic initiation for insomnia in patients who were previously naïve to sedative-hypnotics. Each inpatient ward adapted the bundle prior to sustaining the intervention for a minimum of 16 months.

MAIN MEASURES

The primary outcome measure was the proportion of sedative-hypnotic-naïve inpatients newly prescribed a sedative-hypnotic for sleep in hospital. Secondary measures include prescribing rates of other sedating medications, fall rates, length of stay, and mortality.

KEY RESULTS

We included 8,970 patient discharges in the control period and 10,120 in the intervention period. Adjusted sedative-hypnotic prescriptions among naïve patients decreased from 15.48% (95% CI: 6.09-19.42) to 9.08% (p<0.001) (adjusted OR 0.814; 95% CI: 0.667-0.993, p=0.042). Unchanged secondary outcomes included mortality (adjusted OR 1.089; 95% CI: 0.786-1.508, p=0.608), falls (adjusted rate ratio 0.819; 95% CI: 0.625-1.073, p=0.148), or other sedating drug prescriptions (adjusted OR 1.046; 95% CI: 0.873-1.252, p=0.627).

CONCLUSIONS

A sedative-hypnotic reduction quality improvement bundle implemented across 5 hospitals was associated with a sustained reduction in sedative-hypnotic prescriptions.

The MedSafer Study-Electronic Decision Support for Deprescribing in Hospitalized Older Adults: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE

Scalable deprescribing interventions may reduce polypharmacy and the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs); however, few studies have been large enough to evaluate the impact that deprescribing may have on adverse drug events (ADEs).

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of an electronic deprescribing decision support tool on ADEs after hospital discharge among older adults with polypharmacy.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This was a cluster randomized clinical trial of older (≥65 years) hospitalized patients with an expected survival of more than 3 months who were admitted to 1 of 11 acute care hospitals in Canada from August 22, 2017, to January 13, 2020. At admission, participants were taking 5 or more medications per day. Data analyses were performed from January 3, 2021, to September 23, 2021.

INTERVENTIONS

Personalized reports of deprescribing opportunities generated by MedSafer software to address usual home medications and measures of prognosis and frailty. Deprescribing reports provided to the treating team were compared with usual care (medication reconciliation).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcome was a reduction of ADEs within the first 30 days postdischarge (including adverse drug withdrawal events) captured through structured telephone surveys and adjudicated blinded to intervention status. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of patients with 1 or more PIMs deprescribed at discharge and the proportion of patients with an adverse drug withdrawal event (ADWE).

RESULTS

A total of 5698 participants (median [range] age, 78 [72-85] years; 2858 [50.2%] women; race and ethnicity data were not collected) were enrolled in 3 clusters and were adjudicated for the primary outcome (control, 3204; intervention, 2494). Despite cluster randomization, there were group imbalances, eg, the participants in the intervention arm were older and had more PIMS prescribed at baseline. After hospital discharge, 4989 (87.6%) participants completed an ADE interview. There was no significant difference in ADEs within 30 days of discharge (138 [5.0%] of 2742 control vs 111 [4.9%] of 2247 intervention participants; adjusted risk difference [aRD] -0.8%; 95% CI, -2.9% to 1.3%). Deprescribing increased from 795 (29.8%) of 2667 control to 1249 (55.4%) of 2256 intervention participants [aRD, 22.2%; 95% CI, 16.9% to 27.4%]. There was no difference in ADWEs between groups. Several post hoc sensitivity analyses, including the use of a nonparametric test to address the low cluster number, group imbalances, and potential biases, did not alter study conclusions.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

This cluster randomized clinical trial showed that providing deprescribing clinical decision support during acute hospitalization had no demonstrable impact on ADEs, although the intervention was safe and led to improvements in deprescribing.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03272607.

Understanding the Influence of the Junior Attending Role on Transition to Practice: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

The Junior Attending (JA) role is an educational model, commonly implemented in the final years of training, wherein a very senior resident assumes the responsibilities of an attending physician under supervision. However, there is heterogeneity in the model's structure, and data are lacking on how it facilitates transition to independent practice.

OBJECTIVE

The authors sought to determine the value of the JA role and factors that enabled a successful experience.

METHODS

The authors performed a collective case study informed by a constructivist grounded theory analytical approach. Twenty semi-structured interviews from 2017 to 2020 were conducted across 2 cases: (1) Most Responsible Physician JA role (general internal medicine), and (2) Consultant JA role (infectious diseases and rheumatology). Participants included recent graduates who experienced the JA role, supervising attendings, and resident and faculty physicians who had not experienced or supervised the role.

RESULTS

Experiencing the JA role builds resident confidence and may support the transition to independent practice, mainly in non-medical expert domains, as well as comfort in dealing with clinical uncertainty. The relationship between the supervising attending and the JA is an essential success factor, with more productive experiences reported when there is an establishment of clear goals and role definition that preserves the autonomy of the JA and legitimizes the JA's status as a team leader.

CONCLUSIONS

The JA model offers promise in supporting the transition to independent practice when key success factors are present.

Surviving SARS and living through COVID-19: Healthcare worker mental health outcomes and insights for coping

Objective

Explore how previous work during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak affects the psychological response of clinical and non-clinical healthcare workers (HCWs) to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

A cross-sectional, multi-centered hospital online survey of HCWs in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. Mental health outcomes of HCWs who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic and the SARS outbreak were assessed using Impact of Events—Revised scale (IES-R), Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).

Results

Among 3852 participants, moderate/severe scores for symptoms of post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (50.2%), anxiety (24.6%), and depression (31.5%) were observed among HCWs. Work during the 2003 SARS outbreak was reported by 1116 respondents (29.1%), who had lower scores for symptoms of PTSD (P = .002), anxiety (P < .001), and depression (P < .001) compared to those who had not worked during the SARS outbreak. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed non-clinical HCWs during this pandemic were at higher risk of anxiety (OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.19–2.15, P = .01) and depressive symptoms (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.34–3.07, P < .001). HCWs using sedatives (OR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.61–4.03, P < .001), those who cared for only 2–5 patients with COVID-19 (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.06–2.38, P = .01), and those who had been in isolation for COVID-19 (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 0.96–1.93, P = .05), were at higher risk of moderate/severe symptoms of PTSD. In addition, deterioration in sleep was associated with symptoms of PTSD (OR, 4.68, 95% CI, 3.74–6.30, P < .001), anxiety (OR, 3.09, 95% CI, 2.11–4.53, P < .001), and depression (OR 5.07, 95% CI, 3.48–7.39, P < .001).

Conclusion

Psychological distress was observed in both clinical and non-clinical HCWs, with no impact from previous SARS work experience. As the pandemic continues, increasing psychological and team support may decrease the mental health impacts.

Prolonged ketosis and glycosuria secondary to SGLT2 inhibitor therapy

Clinicians should be aware of the potential for the pharmacologic activity of SGLT2 inhibitors to persist long after the standard drug clearance period of five half-lives, the typical duration used to guide pre-operative medication recommendations.

Salicylate toxicity from chronic bismuth subsalicylate use

A 79-year-old man presented to the emergency department with a 1-week history of worsening confusion, falls and hearing impairment. An initial workup for infectious, metabolic and structural causes was unrevealing. However, further history discovered that he had been ingesting one to two bottles of Pepto-Bismol (bismuth subsalicylate) daily for gastro-oesophageal reflux symptoms. On his second day of admission, the plasma salicylate concentration was 2.08 mmol/L (reference range 1.10-2.20 mmol/L), despite no sources of salicylate in hospital. He was diagnosed with chronic salicylate toxicity and Pepto-Bismol use was discontinued. The patient was treated supportively with isotonic intravenous fluids only and plasma salicylate concentration fell to less than 0.36 mmol/L. Concurrently, all his symptoms resolved. This case highlights the potential adverse effects of over-the-counter medications. The diagnosis of chronic salicylate toxicity is challenging, specifically in the elderly and in undifferentiated presentations, as it can be missed if not suspected.

COVID-SAFER: Deprescribing Guidance for Hydroxychloroquine Drug Interactions in Older Adults

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection causes high morbidity and mortality in older adults with chronic illnesses. Several trials are currently underway evaluating the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for acute infection. However, polypharmacy predisposes patients to increased risk of drug‐drug interactions with hydroxychloroquine and may render many in this population ineligible to participate in trials. We aimed to quantify the degree of polypharmacy and burden of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) that older hospitalized adults are taking that would interact with hydroxychloroquine.

METHODS

We reanalyzed data from the cohort of patients 65 years and older enrolled in the MedSafer pilot study. We first identified patients taking medications with potentially harmful drug‐drug interactions with hydroxychloroquine that might exclude them from participation in a typical 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) therapeutic trial. Next, we identified medications that were flagged by MedSafer as potentially inappropriate and crafted guidance around medication management if contemplating the use of hydroxychloroquine.

RESULTS

The cohort contained a total of 1,001 unique patients with complete data on their home medications at admission. Of these 1,001 patients, 590 (58.9%) were receiving one or more home medications that could potentially interact with hydroxychloroquine, and of these, 255 (43.2%) were flagged as potentially inappropriate by the MedSafer tool. Common classes of PIMs observed were antipsychotics, cardiac medications, and antidiabetic agents.

CONCLUSION

The COVID‐19 pandemic highlights the importance of medication optimization and deprescribing PIMs in older adults. By acting now to reduce polypharmacy and use of PIMs, we can better prepare this vulnerable population for inclusion in trials and, if substantiated, pharmacologic treatment or prevention of COVID‐19. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1636‐1646, 2020.

Adverse Drug Events in Older Adults: Review of Adjudication Methods in Deprescribing Studies

OBJECTIVES

Polypharmacy is common in older adults and associated with adverse drug events (ADEs). Several methods have been described in studies to help correlate ADE causation. We performed a narrative review to identify methods for ADE adjudication. We compared their strengths and limitations to assess their applicability to deprescribing studies (of which clinical trials are a subset) and to encourage the use of a standardized method in future studies.

DESIGN

We performed a review of original articles (1946-2019) using the Medline (Ovid) and Cochrane databases. We also conducted a manual reference search of review articles. Abstracts were screened for relevance.

MEASUREMENTS

Adjudication methods were compared for advantages and limitations including validity, ease of use, and applicability to clinical trials with deprescribing as the primary intervention.

RESULTS

The search yielded 1881 articles of which 175 articles were included for full-text review. Following in-depth review, 135 were excluded: 79 had no ADE outcome data, 35 were not specific to older adults, 9 were not relevant, 6 were review articles, 5 contained duplicate data, and 1 was not written in French or English. Forty articles remained for analysis, from which we identified 10 unique ADE adjudication methods. No method was developed originally for use in a deprescribing setting.

CONCLUSION

A standard method to identify ADEs is important to capture the outcome reliably in deprescribing studies. All methods we identified had limitations in terms of capturing adverse events from the withdrawal of medications. Future work should focus on refining adjudication methods for capturing ADEs related not only to medication continuation and new drug starts but also to deprescribing and drug discontinuation. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1594-1602, 2020.

Unintentional sulfonylurea toxicity due to a drug-drug interaction: a case report

BACKGROUND

Sulfonylureas are widely used for type 2 diabetes mellitus, but these medications carry a risk of hypoglycemia. Drug-drug interactions that inhibit sulfonylurea metabolism and thus increase systemic exposure can cause unintentional sulfonylurea toxicity.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 56-year-old man presented with severe, recurrent hypoglycemia. He had a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus and was taking the sulfonylurea gliclazide with no prior episodes of hypoglycemia. The onset of his hypoglycemia occurred within days after starting voriconazole and subsequently fluconazole for a fungal pneumonia. Unintentional sulfonylurea toxicity developed due to an adverse drug-drug interaction between gliclazide and these antifungals. Azole antifungals inhibit the metabolism of sulfonylureas resulting in increased systemic exposure and consequent toxicity. After the diagnosis of sulfonylurea toxicity was recognized, the patient was treated initially with dextrose and then administered octreotide to prevent recurrent hypoglycemia. He was successfully managed, his hypoglycemic episodes resolved, and his medications were adjusted to avoid any further adverse interactions.

CONCLUSIONS

Adverse drug-drug interactions continue to pose challenges to clinicians. Both individual vigilance and system wide strategies are needed to prevent and mitigate consequences. This case highlights an important drug-drug interaction and reviews the presentation, management and antidotal therapy of sulfonylurea toxicity.

Junior Rounds: an educational initiative to improve role transitions for junior residents

Objective

At our institution, Morning Report focuses mostly on diagnostic reasoning. This makes it a challenge for first-year residents to learn to manage common on-call emergencies, such as hyperkalemia. We sought to improve their preparedness for the transitions they would encounter: from medical student to physician at the beginning of the academic year, and from junior resident to senior resident toward the end. In response to feedback, we developed the Junior Rounds curriculum: a weekly session focused on the approach to commonly encountered on-call emergencies and internal medicine referrals. Anonymous surveys were sent to trainees, and iterative analysis of monthly feedback led to changes to Junior Rounds.

Results

Junior Rounds was implemented from August 2015 to June 2016. Thirty-nine of 92 possible respondents (44%) completed surveys in that period. Most respondents agreed that Junior Rounds met their educational needs, was presented at an appropriate level, and was more important to their learning than other available educational activities. Our experience demonstrates that dedicated time for level-specific learning aimed to support the transitions of junior residents can be successfully achieved. Iterative adjustment to these rounds based on feedback allowed for evolution of the curriculum to meet the changing priorities of junior learners.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-017-3027-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Clinical Review: Loperamide Toxicity

Loperamide is a nonprescription opioid widely used for the treatment of diarrhea. Although it is relatively safe at therapeutic doses, increasing reports describe its misuse and abuse at very high doses either for euphoric effects or to attenuate symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Life-threatening loperamide toxicity can result from the relatively new clinical syndrome of loperamide-induced cardiac toxicity. These patients are often young and may present in cardiac arrest or with unheralded, recurrent syncope in conjunction with ECG abnormalities, including marked QT-interval prolongation, QRS-interval widening, and ventricular dysrhythmias. Features of conventional opioid toxicity may also be present. The mainstays of treatment include advanced cardiac life support and supportive care, although selected patients may be candidates for overdrive pacing, intravenous lipid emulsion, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. In patients who survive loperamide toxicity, consideration should be given to the treatment of an underlying opioid use disorder, if present.

Understanding the effect of resident duty hour reform: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Concern surrounding the effect of resident fatigue on patient care recently led the National Steering Committee on Resident Duty Hours to publish Canadian recommendations suggesting that duty periods of 24 or more consecutive hours without restorative sleep should be avoided. We sought to characterize how different training programs are preparing for the effect of such changes on education, patient care and provider well-being.

METHODS

Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, we conducted 18 one-on-one semistructured interviews with program directors, division directors and department chiefs from 11 residency programs affiliated with one Canadian medical school. We gathered and analyzed data iteratively until we reached theoretical saturation.

RESULTS

The key theme articulated by our participants was that changes in resident duty hours would potentially lead to gaps in the provision of clinical care. These changes affect acute care specialties based primarily in the inpatient setting (e.g., medicine, surgery) more than primarily ambulatory (e.g., family medicine) or shift-model based (e.g., emergency) specialties. Potential strategies to address gaps in clinical care include resident-based solutions, faculty-based solutions and solutions based on other providers (e.g., nonacademic physicians, physician extenders). Each solution has unique advantages and disadvantages in terms of education, continuity of care, preparedness for practice and provider well-being.

INTERPRETATION

Our data-driven framework serves as a guide for programs to anticipate challenges of satisfying clinical care needs in the face of changes to resident duty hours, while balancing education, care continuity, preparedness for practice and provider well-being. Our findings challenge the "one-size-fits-all" approach to changes to resident duty hours and endorse flexibility in enacting duty hour regulations based on specialty-specific factors.