Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiology of polypharmacy in hospital psychiatry. Another aim was to investigate predictors of the number of drugs taken and the associated risks of drug-drug interactions and potentially inappropriate medications in the elderly.
Methods: Daily prescription data were obtained from a pharmacovigilance project sponsored by the Innovations Funds of the German Federal Joint Committee.
Results: The study included 47 071 inpatient hospital cases from eight different study centers. The mean number of different drugs during the entire stay was 6.1 (psychotropic drugs = 2.7; others = 3.4). The mean number of drugs per day was 3.8 (psychotropic drugs = 1.6; others = 2.2). One third of cases received at least five different drugs per day on average during their hospital stay (polypharmacy). Fifty-one percent of patients received more than one psychotropic drug simultaneously. Hospital cases with polypharmacy were 18 years older (p < 0.001), more likely to be female (52% vs. 40%, p < 0.001) and had more comorbidities (5 vs. 2, p < 0.001) than hospital cases without polypharmacy. The risks of drug-drug interactions (OR = 3.7; 95% CI = 3.5-3.9) and potentially inappropriate medication use in the elderly (OR = 2.2; CI = 1.9-2.5) substantially increased in patients that received polypharmacy.
Conclusion: Polypharmacy is frequent in clinical care. The number of used drugs is a proven risk factor of adverse drug reactions due to drug-drug interactions and potentially inappropriate medication use in the elderly. The potential interactions and the specific pharmacokinetics and -dynamics of older patients should always be considered when multiple drugs are used.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pds.5310 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Mechanism of Radix Bupleuri and Hedysarum Multijugum Maxim drug pairs on liver fibrosis based on network pharmacology, bioinformatics and molecular dynamics simulation.
PLoS One
January 2025
School of Public Health, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Hefei, China.
A number of studies demonstrate the therapeutic effectiveness of Radix Bupleuri (RB) and Hedysarum Multijugum Maxim (HMM) in treating liver fibrosis, but the exact molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to explore the mechanism of RB-HMM drug pairs in treating liver fibrosis by using network pharmacology, bioinformatics, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation technology and in vitro experiments. Totally, 155 intersection targets between RB-HMM and liver fibrosis were identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmacy Subscription Program and Medication Refills, Days' Supply, and Out-of-Pocket Costs.
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Amazon Health Services, Seattle, Washington.
Importance: Medication nonadherence imposes high morbidity, mortality, and costs but is challenging to address given its multiple causes. Subscription models are increasingly used in health care to encourage healthy behaviors; in January 2023, Amazon Pharmacy launched RxPass, a subscription program offering Amazon Prime members (hereafter, company members) in 45 states access to 60 common generic medications for a flat $5 monthly fee.
Objective: To evaluate the associations of program enrollment with medication refills, days' supply, and out-of-pocket costs.
Cohort profile: the provincial opioid agonist treatment cohort in Ontario, Canada.
Eur J Epidemiol
January 2025
Health Sciences North Research Institute, Sudbury, ON, Canada.
Background: Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) is the most effective intervention for opioid use disorder (OUD), but retention has decreased due to increasingly potent drugs like fentanyl. This cohort can be used retrospectively to observe trends in service utilization, healthcare integration, healthcare costs and patient outcomes. It also facilitates the design of observational studies to mimic a prospective design.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: can we do better?
Curr Opin Oncol
January 2025
Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
Purpose Of Review: Although the management of nausea and vomiting induced by cancer treatments has evolved, several questions remain unanswered.
Recent Findings: New antiemetics have been developed these last decades with therapeutic indications to be defined according to the anticancer regimen and partly as a consequence of the assessment of individual patient risk factors. Guidelines still seem to have a low level of knowledge and compliance, with a role for scientific societies in term of dissemination and education.
Herbicide glyphosate efficiently inhibits growth of pathogenic algae species, suggesting the presence of novel pathways for the development of anti-algal drugs.
Microbiol Spectr
January 2025
Institute for Animal Hygiene and Environmental Health, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
are ubiquitous algae and occasional pathogens of humans and animals. While rare, the infection is often fatal and treatment options are limited to antifungals with low efficiency. Here, using growth curve assays, we demonstrate that five pathogenic species of () were fully inhibited by 50-100 μg/mL of herbicide glyphosate, suggesting novel pathways that can be considered for anti-algal drug development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!