Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing and Related Hospital Admissions in Geriatric Patients: A Comparative Analysis between the STOPP and START Criteria Versions 1 and 2.

Background: Older persons are at significant risk of drug-related admissions (DRAs). We previously demonstrated that 27% of hospitalizations in geriatric patients were associated with potentially inappropriate medicines (PIMs) and/or potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) identified by the Screening Tool of Older People's Prescriptions/Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment (STOPP/START) criteria version 1 (v). The updated STOPP/START criteria version 2 (v) comprised a 31% increase in prescribing criteria.