Translation and Adaptation of the STOPP/START Criteria Version 3 for Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing in Older People to European Portuguese: A Study Protocol.

Introduction: As the global population ages, managing medication use in older adults becomes increasingly complex due to polypharmacy and the associated risks of adverse drug events. To improve the safety and appropriateness of medication use in the older population, tools like the Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions (STOPP) and Screening Tool to Alert doctors to Right Treatment (START) criteria have been developed. The availability of updated criteria is crucial to better support healthcare professionals in Portuguese-speaking regions.

Usability of APIMedOlder: A Web Application to Manage Potentially Inappropriate Medication in Older Adults.

Introduction: Considering the increase in the proportion of the older population worldwide, the demand for health system resources also arises. These tools optimize clinical decision-making, thus avoiding iatrogenesis and thus contributing to a better quality of life for the older population. In response, we created an online web application, the APIMedOlder, that provides access to healthcare professionals to allow healthcare professionals to access potentially inappropriate medication identification criteria through a useful tool with a simplified profile, allowing its applicability in clinical practice.

Potentially inappropriate anticholinergic drug use among older adults in primary healthcare: prevalence and determinants.

Background: Considering the vulnerability of older adults to adverse drug reactions, medications with strong anticholinergic properties are considered potentially inappropriate for this population. This study aims to characterize older adults' profile of anticholinergics use and to identify the factors associated with their potentially inappropriate use.

Research Design And Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 1200 older adults in primary health care centers of Portugal between April 2021 and August 2022.

Comparing AGS Beers 2019, STOPP version 2, and EU(7)-PIM list in Portuguese older adults in primary health care.

Purpose: This study aims to identify PIM prevalence in older adults according to the 2019 Beers criteria, Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions version 2 (STOPP v2) criteria, and the Portuguese EU(7)-PIM list and also to analyze the concordance between these criteria.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among 1200 Portuguese older adults (≥ 65 years old), users of primary health care. Demographic, clinical, and pharmacological data were collected concerning the period between April 2021 and August 2022.

Barriers and facilitators of health professionals in adopting digital health-related tools for medication appropriateness: A systematic review.

Objective: Digital health is described as the use and development of all types of digital technologies to improve health outcomes. It could be used to prevent medication errors, a priority for health systems worldwide. However, the adoption of such tools remains slow.

Magnitude and Determinants of Long-term Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors Among Portuguese Older Adults in Primary Health Care.

Purpose: Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) have been associated with several adverse effects of particular concern in older populations. Their use for a period longer than 8 weeks is not recommended for older adults. Strategies to discontinue PPIs have been offered; however, their use remains high.

Factors associated with underreporting of adverse drug reactions by patients: a systematic review.

Background: Spontaneous reporting is the most used method to monitor post-marketing safety information. Although patient involvement in spontaneous reporting has increased overtime, little is known about factors associated with patients' adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting.

Aim: To identify and assess the sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes and knowledge that influence spontaneous reporting and the reasons associated with ADR underreporting by patients.

Geographic Variation in Top-10 Prescribed Medicines and Potentially Inappropriate Medication in Portugal: An Ecological Study of 2.2 Million Older Adults.

Multiple medication intake by older adults is considered a serious public health concern since it is associated with increased risk of adverse drug reactions and potentially inappropriate medication (PIM). This study described the top-10 prescribed active substances considering geographical distribution and PIM prescription in older adults. A cross-sectional ecological study using data on the active substances prescribed to people aged 65 years or older during 2020 was conducted.

Potentially Inappropriate Medication Prescribing in Older Adults According to EU(7)-Potentially Inappropriate Medication List: A Nationwide Study in Portugal.

Background: Portugal has among the highest rates of dependency among older adults in Europe. Older adults with aging-related comorbidities are prone to the use of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM).

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze PIM prescriptions in older Portuguese adults, as well as the change rate of PIM prescriptions over time, and assess the geographical variability between the different regions of mainland Portugal.

Trends and Geographic Variabilities in Benzodiazepines Prescription in Primary Care to Older Adults: A 3-Year Population-Based Ecological Study in Portugal.

(1) Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), benzodiazepines (BZD) are considered essential medicines for the treatment of several mental disorders in older adults over 65 years old. However, the long-term use of BZD could present a harmful impact on this population, leading to cognitive deficits, drug dependence, falls, and fractures. This study aims to analyze trends of BZD prescription to Portuguese older adults in the primary care setting, and to analyze the change in the prescription rate of BZD over time, assessing the geographical variability in mainland Portugal.

Effectiveness of Interventions to Reduce Potentially Inappropriate Medication in Older Patients: A Systematic Review.

Age-related multiple comorbidities cause older adults to be prone to the use of potentially inappropriate medicines (PIM) resulting in an increased risk of adverse events. Several strategies have emerged to support PIM prescription, and a huge number of interventions to reduce PIM have been proposed. This work aims to analyze the effectiveness of PIM interventions directed to older adults.

Oromucosal Alginate Films with Zein Nanoparticles as a Novel Delivery System for Digoxin.

Digoxin is a hydrophobic drug used for the treatment of heart failure that possesses a narrow therapeutic index, which raises safety concerns for toxicity. This is of utmost relevance in specific populations, such as the elderly. This study aimed to demonstrate the potential of the sodium alginate films as buccal drug delivery system containing zein nanoparticles incorporated with digoxin to reduce the number of doses, facilitating the administration with a quick onset of action.

[Operationalisation for Portugal of the EU(7)-PIM List for Identification of Potentially Inappropriate Medicines in Older Adults].

Introduction: In 2015, the EU(7)-PIM List was published, which identifies potentially inappropriate medicines in older patients and resulted from a consensus of experts from seven European countries. Portugal was not part of this group, so it was not originally adapted to the Portuguese reality. With this work, we intend to elaborate a list of potentially inappropriate medicines adapted to the reality of medicines marketed in Portugal, through the operationalization of the EU(7)-PIM List for the national reality and to evaluate the adequacy of its use for clinical practice.

Antibiotic Dispensation without a Prescription Worldwide: A Systematic Review.

Antibiotic resistance still remains a major global public health problem and the dispensing of antibiotics without a prescription at community pharmacies is an important driver of this. MEDLINE, Pubmed and EMBASE databases were used to search and identify studies reporting the dispensing of non-prescribed antibiotics in community pharmacies or drugstores that sell drugs for human use, by applying pharmacy interviews/questionnaires methods and/or simulated patient methods. Of the 4683 studies retrieved, 85 were included, of which 59 (69.

Tuberous sclerosis complex.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, also known as Epiloia or Bourneville-Pringle disease is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous syndrome with variable clinical expression. It is a multisystem disorder that may be associated with hamartomas in multiple organs in an unpredictable manner. The dermatologist plays an essential role in the history of the disease, since skin manifestations represent the most prevalent clinical features, enabling early diagnosis and intervention in its natural course.

[The 50-year-old women or older: preventive actions to the HIV infection].

The present study is a qualitative research which aimed to verify the adoption of preventive measures on the transmission of HIV in 50-year-old women or older, who lived in poor communities and were assisted by the Family Health Program in São Paulo, Brazil. Medical Anthropology has been adopted as a theoretical reference, as well as the Discourse of the Collective Individual for data analysis. Thirteen women were interviewed and three discourses were presented: prevention appreciation, invisibility of HIV/AIDS and the rejection of the use of condom.