Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy, inappropriate drug use, and drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in elderly patients presenting at outpatient cardiology clinics in Turkey.
Methods: The EPIC (Epidemiology of Polypharmacy and Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in Elderly Cardiac Outpatients) study will be an observational, real-world, multicenter study conducted to evaluate DDIs and polypharmacy in elderly cardiac outpatients. All consecutive patients (aged ≥65 years) admitted to outpatient cardiology clinics between July 30, 2018 and July 30, 2019 who provide written, informed consent will be enrolled. A total of approximately 5000 patients are to be enrolled in this non-interventional study. All of the data will be collected at one point in time and current clinical practice will be evaluated (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03370523).
Results: Patient demographics, comorbid disease characteristics, laboratory test results, and details of medication use will be collected using self-reports and medical records. The severity of comorbid disease will be recorded and scored according to Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and patients will be divided into 3 groups: mild, those with a CCI score of 1-2; moderate, those with a CCI score of 3-4; and severe, those with a CCI score of ≥5. Polypharmacy will be defined as the use of 5 or more medications at one time. DDIs will be determined using the Lexicomp Online drug interaction screening tool and potentially inappropriate medications will be defined based on the 2015 update of the Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults. Severe drug interactions will be defined as those in category D or X.
Conclusion: EPIC will be the first large-scale study in Turkey to evaluate polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medications, and DDIs in elderly cardiac outpatients in a real-world clinical setting.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.5543/tkda.2019.27724 | DOI Listing |
Ann Med
December 2025
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Flinders Medical Centre, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, Adelaide, Australia.
Background: Most older patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have comorbidities. However, it is unclear whether specific comorbidity patterns are associated with adverse outcomes. We identified comorbidity patterns and their association with mortality in multimorbid older AF patients with different multidimensional frailty.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Coll Physicians Surg Pak
January 2025
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Second People's Hospital of Anhui Province, Hefei, China.
Objective: To explore the prognostic significance of Sestrin-2 and Galectin-3 levels in atrial fibrillation complicated by left atrial remodelling, aiming to offer novel insights for prevention, treatment, and follow-up strategies.
Study Design: Analytical study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Cardiology, Second People's Hospital of Anhui Province, Hefei, China, from January 2021 to December 2023.
Crit Care
January 2025
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Background: Carbapenem-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria, including Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA), are common causes of infections in intensive care units (ICUs) in Italy.
Objective: This prospective observational study evaluated the epidemiology, management, microbiological characterization, and outcomes of hospital-acquired CRE or CRPA infections treated in selected ICUs in Italy.
Methods: The study included patients with hospital-acquired infections due to CRE and CRPA treated in 20 ICUs from June 2021 to February 2023.
J Cardiothorac Surg
January 2025
Cardiovascular Research Center, Health Policy and Promotion Institute, Imam-Ali Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
Background: The lacking proper regulation of International Normalized Ratio (INR) as the main problem in patients with mechanical valve replacement surgery poses the risk of thrombosis and embolism on the one hand and the risk of bleeding on the other. For this reason, the correct monitoring of INR via the Time in Therapeutic Range (TTR) is needed. The present study aimed to explore the blood coagulation monitoring of patients with mechanical heart valve in Imam Ali Hospital of Kermanshah in 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomed Eng Online
January 2025
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No.6 of Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100853, China.
Objective: This study aims to investigate the monthly variation patterns of bioelectrical impedance (BEI) along 24 meridian pathways in healthy individuals.
Methods: A cohort of 684 healthy middle-aged participants from North China was enrolled between July 1, 2017, and September 5, 2020. BEI measurements were consistently recorded along the 24 meridian pathways over the study period.
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