Journal
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY
Volume 84, Issue 8, Pages 1757-1763Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/bcp.13607
Keywords
hospital admission; mortality; older adults; potential prescribing omissions; potentially inappropriate medications; STOPP; START criteria version 2
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
AimsApplying version 2 of the STOPP/START criteria to discharge prescriptions of older adults discharged from a general medical unit, the aim of this study is to assess potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) and their association with hospital readmission and mortality. MethodsDischarge medications, co-morbidities and patient demographics were recorded over an 8-month period for consecutive emergency admissions of patients aged 65 years. PIMs and PPOs were identified using version 2 of the STOPP/START criteria. Multivariate analysis for association of PIMs and PPOs with re-admissions and mortality during the follow-up period were assessed using binary logistic regression. ResultsData for 259 patients with a mean age of 77 (65-99, 51% female) were analysed. At discharge, the mean number of co-morbidities and medications per patient were 5.4 (SD: 2.1 range: 0-14) and 9.3 (SD: 4.0 range: 1-31) respectively. During the follow-up period (mean 41.5 months, SD: 2.0 range: 38-46 months), 50.2% of patients had died and the median number of readmissions was two (IQR: 1-4 range: 0-33). Prescription of more than five medications was significantly associated with PIMs and PPOs (OR: 2.75, 95% CI: 1.34-5.62 and OR 3.20, 95% CI: 1.57-6.54 respectively). Presence of a PIM was associated with three or more readmissions (OR: 2.43 95% CI: 1.19-4.98) and PPOs with mortality (OR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.09-3.27). ConclusionsUsing version 2 of the STOPP/START criteria, the presence of PIMs and/or PPOs in older adults discharged from hospital is significantly associated with repeated hospital admissions and mortality respectively.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available