scholarly journals Prevalence and Factors that Influence Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use among Thai Elderly in Primary Care Settings

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 332-340
Author(s):  
Pasitpon Vatcharavongvan ◽  
Vanida Prasert ◽  
Chanuttha Ploylearmsang ◽  
Viwat Puttawanchai

Background  Older age increases the likelihood of chronic diseases and polypharmacy with the likelihood of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in secondary and tertiary care levels, but in the primary care settings of Thailand there still is a need for more evidence. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of PIM in primary care settings, and to identify factors that influence the use of PIM.  Methods  A cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted in 2017. Eight primary care units from four regions of Thailand were randomly selected. People aged ≥ 60 years in the eight units were studied as participants. The List of Risk Drugs for Thai Elderly (LRDTE) was used as the reference. Multivariate logistic regression was carried out to identify factors that influence.  Results  A total of 4,848 patients aged ≥60 years with 20,671 prescriptions were studied. The mean age was 70.7±8.3 years for males, and 61.2% for females. A little more than 5% (5.1%) had ≥ 3 chronic diseases and 15.0% received polypharmacy ( ≥5 medications). The prevalence of prescriptions with PIMs was 65.9%. The most frequent PIMs were antidepressants: amitriptyline (28.1%), antihistamines: dimenhydrinate (22.4%) and chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM) (11.2%); and Benzodiazepines: lorazepam (6.5%). Three factors that significantly influenced prescribing of PIMs were polypharmacy (adjusted OR 3.51; 95% CI 2.81-4.32), having ≥3 chronic diseases (adjusted OR 1.44; 95% CI 1.04-2.01), and age ≥75 years (adjusted OR 1.18; 95% CI 1.01-1.38).  Conclusion  More than two-thirds of elderly Thai patients in the primary care settings were prescribed PIMs. Multidisciplinary prescription review and PIM screening in patients aged ≥75 years who have ≥3 chronic diseases or polypharmacy should be implemented in primary care and supportive computerized PIMs alert system is needed. 

Author(s):  
Tzu-Chueh Wang ◽  
Pou-Jen Ku ◽  
Hai-Lin Lu ◽  
Kung-Chuan Hsu ◽  
Damien Trezise ◽  
...  

Long-term continuous exposure to potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) can lead to adverse events in the elderly. However, the effects of long-term exposure of the elderly to PIM and the relationship between PIM and chronic diseases remain unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the continuous use of PIMs in a community-dwelling elderly population. A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted using community pharmacy–filed dispensing records from the Hcare system. Twenty-three community pharmacies were sampled from 2013 to 2015 to obtain records of patients above 65 years-old with continuous prescriptions. PIM were identified according to the 2015 Beers Criteria. The prevalence of patients using PIM was highest in patients with co-morbid mental disorders (40.05%), followed by neurological system disorders (28.91%). Patients who were prescribed a PIM were more than three times as likely to have a mental disorder as those (odds ratio 3.16, 95% confidence interval: 3.06–3.28) with non-chronic diseases. The most prescribed PIM agents were central nervous system drugs (53.16%), and benzodiazepines (35.15%). Patients with mental disorders had the highest rate of long-term persistent PIM exposure, with benzodiazepines being the most frequently dispensed. Drug safety concerns should be closely monitored in elderly patients with the abovementioned conditions.


Salmand ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-287
Author(s):  
Tahereh Eteraf Oskouei ◽  
◽  
Elaheh Vatankhah ◽  
Moslem Najafi ◽  
◽  
...  

Objectives: Prescribing medication for the elderly is an important health issue. This study aimed to investigate the status of Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs) prescription for the elderly by general physicians in Tabriz, Iran. Methods & Materials: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 on the prescriptions of general physicians for the elderly in Tabriz, Iran. After initial screening of 16842 prescriptions belonged to two insurance systems (social security insurance and health insurance), 1500 prescriptions were selected. The Beers criteria 2019 was used to assess PIM prescription status and their alternatives were suggested if needed. Data were expressed as Mean±Standard Deviation (SD) and No. (%), and analyzed in SPSS v. 21 software. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to examine the differences in the study factors between the prescriptions related to two insurance systems. The relationship between patients’ age and PIM prescription was examined using Spearman correlation test. Results: The Mean±SD number of drugs in each prescription was 3.93±1.5 and the Mean±SD number of prescribed PIMs was 0.74±0.8. Polypharmacy was observed in 32.6% of the prescriptions, and 53.9% had at least one PIM. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antihistamines and benzodiazepines were the most PIM groups (45.6, 10.9 and 10.6%, respectively). The most common prescribed PIMs were Adult cold, Diclofenac, Glibenclamide, Ketorolac and Diphenhydramine. Number of PIMs in each prescription did were not statistically different between the prescriptions related to two insurance systems (P=0.343). Moreover, patients’ age and gender had no significant relationship with PIM prescription (P=0.312 and P=0.660, respectively). Conclusion: About 54% of the prescriptions issued by general physicians for the elderly in Tabriz contain PIMs, and polypharmacy is present in about one third of the prescriptions. In order to improve this condition, it is necessary to hold appropriate training and continuous retraining courses in geriatric medicine for general physicians. Supervisions by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Iranian Medical Council can also play an important role in improving the current situation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110350
Author(s):  
Pasitpon Vatcharavongvan ◽  
Viwat Puttawanchai

Background Most older adults with comorbidities in primary care clinics use multiple medications and are at risk of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) prescription. Objective This study examined the prevalence of polypharmacy and PIMs using Thai criteria for PIMs. Methods This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study. Data were collected from electronic medical records in a primary care clinic in 2018. Samples were patients aged ≥65 years old with at least 1 prescription. Variables included age, gender, comorbidities, and medications. The list of risk drugs for Thai elderly version 2 was the criteria for PIMs. The prevalence of polypharmacy and PIMs were calculated, and multiple logistic regression was conducted to examine associations between variables and PIMs. Results Of 2806 patients, 27.5% and 43.7% used ≥5 medications and PIMs, respectively. Of 10 290 prescriptions, 47% had at least 1 PIM. The top 3 PIMs were anticholinergics, proton-pump inhibitors, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Polypharmacy and dyspepsia were associated with PIM prescriptions (adjusted odds ratio 2.48 [95% confident interval or 95% CI 2.07-2.96] and 3.88 [95% CI 2.65-5.68], respectively). Conclusion Prescriptions with PIMs were high in the primary care clinic. Describing unnecessary medications is crucial to prevent negative health outcomes from PIMs. Computer-based clinical decision support, pharmacy-led interventions, and patient-specific drug recommendations are promising interventions to reduce PIMs in a primary care setting.


Author(s):  
Vanajakshamma Velam ◽  
Vyshnavi Kancherla ◽  
Latheef Kasala ◽  
Anusha Kancherla ◽  
Mounica Reddy Pillaram

Abstract Background This study was an attempt to assess and compare the gender-wise lifestyle patterns and well-being status among the employees of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Material and Methods This is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted at a tertiary care hospital between May and August 2019. A total of 777 employees belonging to both genders (male and female) and working at different professional levels were assessed. All the enrolled employees were subjected to a comprehensive study tool consisting of various dimensions of their health, which included physical, mental, social, spiritual and intellectual health dimensions. Results Among the participants, 327 (42.1%) were male and 450 (57.9%) were female. There was no significant difference in the mean age of male (37.91 ± 7.52) and female (36.85 ± 8.16) employees (p = 0.07). A significantly higher proportion of diabetes and hypertension were seen in male employees (9.8% and 14.4%, respectively) than in female (5.6% and 6.2% respectively). The overall well-being was better in male employees than in females and was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). We found that male employees had statistically significant better well-being in terms of physical, mental and social health whereas female employees had intellectual health. Conclusion The overall well-being in healthcare staff was good at our tertiary care hospital, and the outstanding/good well-being rate was higher in male employees than in female employees. Female employees experienced risks with regard to their physical health.


Author(s):  
Gopal Teli ◽  
B. G. Ponnappa

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of diabetic patients regarding care of their own feet.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the inpatient department of surgery at Adichunchanagiri hospital and research centre, B. G. Nagara, Karnataka, India from 1st Nov. 2016 to 31st Dec. 2016. The relation between gender and knowledge, attitude and practices of people with diabetes patients were compared by using the Chi-square test at 95% confidence interval at p<0.05.Results: Out of 51 patients, 72.54% were male and 27.46% female and 45.1% of the patients were in the age range 61-80 y. The mean SD of the age was 60.49±14.02. The mean SD of body weight of the patient was 66.17±8.54. The majority of the patients 45.1% were farmers and 41.7% were illiterate. Most of them did not know the practice of correct foot hygiene (39.22%) and what abnormalities observe in their feet (66.67%). We found that 90.2% patients were engaged in foot self-care practice and more than half of them (54.1%) always inspected their footwear before using it. Interestingly, more women were involved in foot care (100%) as compared to men (86.46%) but statistically not significant (p=0.147).Conclusion: We found that patients were not having sufficient knowledge about the correct hygiene of the foot, what abnormalities to observe in their feet and about ideal footwear. Even though females were showing interest towards self-care examination and foot care practice, it is essential that all the diabetic patients must be educated about the knowledge, attitude and foot self-care practice to prevent diabetic foot related complications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 150 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tejal Patel ◽  
Karen Slonim ◽  
Linda Lee

Background: Older adults with dementia are at high risk for drug-related adverse outcomes. While much is known about potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults, its prevalence and characteristics among those with dementia are not as well elucidated. We conducted a literature review to examine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use among home-dwelling older adults with dementia. Our secondary aim was to determine the most frequently implicated medications and factors associated with potentially inappropriate medication use. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts were searched between 1946 and 2014 for articles that referenced potentially inappropriate medication use and types of dementia. One reviewer screened all titles and abstracts from the initial search and full-text articles after the initial screen for eligibility, then 2 reviewers independently abstracted data from included studies. Results: Searches yielded 81 articles, of which 7 met inclusion criteria. Prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use varied from 15% to 46.8%. No single drug or drug class was reported consistently across all studies as the most frequent potentially inappropriate medication, but anticholinergics and benzodiazepines, drugs that affect cognition, were among the most common medications or pharmacological classes listed. Discussion: Older adults with dementia may be particularly vulnerable to potentially inappropriate medications because of cognitive impairment from their condition and the greater likelihood of experiencing adverse events from medications. Given this population’s greater susceptibility to adverse events, more intense medication and patient monitoring may be warranted, especially among those taking anticholinergics and benzodiazepines, as these drugs can contribute to cognitive impairment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089826432110455
Author(s):  
Ginah Nightingale ◽  
Emily M. Scopelliti ◽  
Robin Casten ◽  
Monica Woloshin ◽  
Shu Xiao ◽  
...  

Background: Medication-related problems in older Blacks with diabetes mellitus (DM) are not well established. Objectives: To describe the frequency of medication-related problems in older Blacks with DM presenting to the emergency department (ED). Methods: The study was a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a randomized controlled trial evaluating Blacks aged ≥60 years of age presenting to the ED. Polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use, and anticholinergic score were evaluated. Results: Of 168 patients (median age = 68, range 60–92), most ( n = 164, 98%) were taking ≥5 medications, and 67 (39.9%) were taking a PIM. A majority ( n = 124, 74%) were taking a medication with an anticholinergic score ≥1. Number of medications was correlated with number of PIMs ( r = .22, p = .004) and anticholinergic score ( r = .50, p < .001). Conclusion: Polypharmacy and PIM use was common in older Blacks with DM.


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