Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol
January 2025
Continuation of opioids at transitions of care increases the risk of long-term opioid use and related harm. To our knowledge, no study has examined the implementability of opioid deprescribing interventions at transitions of care. Our scoping review aimed to identify the type of opioid deprescribing interventions employed at transitions of care and assess the implementability of tested interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: High use of psychotropic medications continues to be common in residential aged care homes despite the risk of harm and limited efficacy in people living with dementia. Research has shown that the organizational culture of aged care homes influences psychotropic medication use in residents with dementia. The Psychotropic medicines use in Residents And Culture: Influencing Clinical Excellence (PRACTICE) tool was developed to evaluate the organizational culture of aged care homes specific to the use of psychotropic medications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Observational studies using real-world data (RWD) can address gaps in knowledge on deprescribing medications but are subject to methodological issues. Limited data exist on the methods employed to use RWD to measure the effects of deprescribing.
Objective: To describe methodological approaches used in observational studies of deprescribing medications in older adults.
Background: Older inpatients with dementia are at an increased risk of an adverse drug reaction (ADR) during hospitalization.
Objective: To quantify the prevalence of ADRs in older inpatients according to dementia status and ADR definition approach and to identify risk factors of ADRs during hospitalization.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 2000 inpatients aged ≥ 75 years admitted consecutively to six Sydney hospitals (1 July 2016 to 31 May 2017).
Background: People living with dementia and their carers often experience difficulties in effectively managing medications and have indicated they lack necessary support, information and guidance. Recognising the medication management information needs of this population is an important first step in addressing these issues.
Objectives: To identify the priorities for information on medication management expressed by people living with dementia and their carers.
Introduction: Despite representing an essential workforce, it is unclear how global policy efforts target early-career dementia researchers (ECDRs). Thus, this study aimed to provide an overview of policies through which ECDRs are considered and supported by dementia plans and organizations.
Methods: G20 member states were evaluated for their national dementia plan alongside policies of leading dementia organizations.
Objectives: Among residents who had a residential medication management review (RMMR), there is a lack of studies assessing exposure to polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in people with dementia. This study compared the exposure to polypharmacy and PIMs in residents with dementia and without dementia receiving RMMR.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed using data of 16,261 residents living in 343 Australian residential aged care facilities who had an RMMR in 2019.
Purpose: The Carer Assessment of medicaTion management guidanCe for people with dementia at Hospital discharge (CATCH) tool was developed to examine the carer's experiences of medication management guidance delivery at discharge. This study explored its factor structure, characterized carers' experiences at discharge, and identified predictors of carer preparedness to manage medications at discharge.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of carers across Australia was distributed.
Introduction: Implementation of the Drug Burden Index (DBI) as a risk assessment tool in clinical practice may facilitate deprescribing.
Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate how a comprehensive intervention bundle using the DBI impacts (i) the proportion of older inpatients with at least one DBI-contributing medication stopped or dose reduced on discharge, compared with admission; and (ii) the changes in deprescribing of different DBI-contributing medication classes during hospitalisation.
Methods: This before-and-after study was conducted in an Australian metropolitan tertiary referral hospital.
Introduction: There is a need for resources to guide informal carers in medication management for people with dementia. Availability of resources on medication management guidance has yet to be explored.
Areas Covered: A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO was performed in May 2022 to identify and evaluate resources for carers of people with dementia that provide guidance in medication management.
Background: Historically, research questions have been posed by the pharmaceutical industry or researchers, with little involvement of consumers and healthcare professionals.
Objective: To determine what questions about medicine use are important to people living with dementia and their care team and whether they have been previously answered by research.
Methods: The James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership process was followed.
Objective: Medication management guidance for carers of people with dementia at hospital discharge is important to prevent medication-related harm during transitions of care. This study aimed to develop a tool to evaluate medication management guidance provided to carers of people with dementia at hospital discharge.
Design: The tool was developed using mixed methods involving two stages.
Objectives: Shared decision making is the process in which the person, their representative, and health care professional share information with each other, participate in the decision-making process, and agree on a course of action. At present, very little is known about shared decision making (SDM) in medication management from the perspective of long-term care facility residents. The objective of this study was to identify residents' beliefs, motivation, and aspects of the environment that facilitate or impede SDM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To investigate the prevalence of frailty in older adults living with dementia and explore the differences in medication use according to frailty status.
Design: Systematic review of published literature from inception to August 20, 2020.
Setting And Participants: Adults age ≥65 years living with dementia in acute-care, community and residential care settings.
Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol
November 2021
Mitigating the burden of unnecessary polypharmacy or multiple medication use in people living with dementia has been recognized as a key priority internationally. One approach to reducing inappropriate polypharmacy is through medication withdrawal or deprescribing.Non-systematic searches of key databases including PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar were conducted from inception to 28 February 2021 for articles that assessed the safety and/or efficacy of deprescribing in older adults living with dementia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Caregivers often undertake medication management for people living with dementia without formal training. There is a need to evaluate caregiver medication management practices for people living with dementia to identify and address the key issues that contribute to caregiver burden.
Objectives: This study aimed to identify and summarize approaches that evaluate medication management for caregivers of people living with dementia and appraise caregiver's involvement in aspects of medication management.
Rationale, Aims, And Objectives: Caregivers of people living with dementia play an essential role in managing medications across transitions of care. Adequate caregiver medication management guidance at hospital discharge is important to ensure optimal outcomes from medication use. This qualitative study explores the experiences and perspectives of caregivers about the medication management guidance provided at hospital discharge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hospital discharge has a significant impact on the continuity of care for people living with dementia. Clear guidance on medication management should be provided to caregivers of people living with dementia to ensure appropriate use of medications post-discharge.
Aim: Identify and appraise the impact of interventions at hospital discharge to guide caregivers in the medication management for people living with dementia.
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The Goal-directed Medication Review Electronic Decision Support System (G-MEDSS) assesses and reports a patient's goals, attitudes to deprescribing and Drug Burden Index (DBI) score, a measure of cumulative exposure to anticholinergic and sedative medications. This study evaluated the effect of implementing G-MEDSS in home medicines reviews (HMRs) on DBI exposure and clinical outcomes.
Methods: A cluster-randomised clinical trial was performed across Australia.
Background: Use of high-risk medications is common and associated with adverse effects in older adults, including those living with dementia. A Computerised Clinical Decision Support System (CCDSS) called G-MEDSS© (Goal-directed Medication Review Electronic Decision Support System) contains tools that identify medications with anticholinergic and sedative effects and align older adult's health and medication goals of care with medication management strategies.
Objectives: To describe the utility of a CCDSS called G-MEDSS in Home Medicines Review (HMR) by an accredited clinical pharmacist (ACP) using a mixed-methods process evaluation method.
Aims: This systematic review aimed to quantify the prevalence of adverse drug events (ADEs) and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in older inpatients with dementia.
Methods: A systematic search of observational studies was performed in Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Scopus and Informit. Articles published in English that reported the prevalence of ADEs or ADRs in hospital patients aged 65 years or older with dementia were included.
Background: Hypertension is an important risk factor for subsequent cardiovascular events, including ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, cognitive decline and premature death. Overall, the use of antihypertensive medications has led to reduction in cardiovascular disease, morbidity rates and mortality rates. However, the use of antihypertensive medications is also associated with harms, especially in older people, including the development of adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions and can contribute to increasing medication-related burden.
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