Medication adherence and glycemic control in patients with psychotic disorders in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system

Objective: To compare antihyperglycemic medication adherence and glycemic control between individuals with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders and a nonpsychiatric comparison group.Methods: This was a retrospective medical record review. A total of 124 subjects with diabetes (62 patients with schizophrenia or a related psychotic disorder and 62 randomly selected, age-matched patients without a psychiatric illness) receiving their medical and psychiatric care exclusively through the Kansas City Veterans Affairs healthcare system during 2008 were included in the study. Adherence to antihyperglycemic and antipsychotic medication was determined by refill records obtained through the computerized patient record system to calculate the cumulative mean gap ratio. Hemoglobin A1C values were utilized to compare glycemic control between groups and compared to glycemic goals established by diabetes treatment guidelines.Results: Antihyperglycemic medication adherence was poor for both groups as approximately 60% of the psychotic disorder group and 75% of the nonpsychiatric comparison group were without antihyperglycemic medication for greater than 30 days during the 12-month period but adherence did not differ between the groups (p=0.182). Antipsychotic adherent subjects (=80% adherent) were more likely to be adherent to their antihyperglycemic medication (p=0.0003). There were no significant differences between groups in glycemic control.Conclusion: Antihyperglycemic medication adherence and glycemic control was less than optimal for both groups. There were no significant differences in antihyperglycemic medication adherence and glycemic control between patients with a psychotic disorder and those without a psychiatric illness

Level, pattern, and determinants of polypharmacy and inappropriate use of medications by village doctors in a rural area of Bangladesh

Rafia S Rasu,1 Mohammad Iqbal,2 SMA Hanifi,2 Ariful Moula2 Shahidul Hoque,2 Sabrina Rasheed,2 Abbas Bhuiya2 1School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA; 2Centre for Equity and Health System, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDR,B), Dhaka, Bangladesh Objective: Village doctors, informal health care providers practicing modern medicine, are dominant health care providers in rural Bangladesh. Given their role, it is important to examine their prescription pattern and inappropriate use of medication. Methods: These cross-sectional study data were collected through surveys of patients seen by village doctors during 2008 and 2010 at Chakaria, a typical rural area of Bangladesh. Categorization of appropriate, inappropriate, and harmful prescriptions by disease conditions was based on guidelines defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Government of Bangladesh. Analytical categorization of polypharmacy was defined when five or more medications were prescribed for a patient at a single visit. Findings: A total of 2,587 prescriptions were written by village doctors during the survey periods. Among the prescriptions were appropriate (10%), inappropriate (8%), combination of appropriate and inappropriate (63%), and harmful medications (19%). Village doctors with more than high school education were 53% less likely (odds ratio [OR]: 0.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26–0.86) to give polypharmacy prescriptions than those with less than high school education. While exploring determinants of prescribing inappropriate and harmful medications, this study found that polypharmacy prescriptions were six times more likely [OR: 6.00, 95% CI: 3.88–9.29] to have harmful medications than prescriptions with <5 medications. Conclusion: Village doctors’ training and supervision may improve the quality of services and establish accountability for the benefit of the rural population. Keywords: Bangladesh, harmful medication, ICDDR,B, informal health care providers, polypharmacy, rural area, village doctor

Persistent nonmalignant pain management using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in older patients and use of inappropriate adjuvant medications

Nahid Rianon,1 Maureen E Knell,2 Walter Agbor-Bawa,3 Joan Thelen,4 Crystal Burkhardt,3 Rafia S Rasu3 1Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, USA; 2Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy, Kansas City, MO, USA; 3Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Kansas School of Pharmacy, Lawrence, KS, USA; 4Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA Objective: Due to the high risk of life-threatening side effects, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are not favored for treating persistent nonmalignant pain in the elderly. We report national prescription trends with determinants of NSAIDs prescription for persistent nonmalignant pain among older patients (age 65 and over) in the US outpatient setting. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed using National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data. Prescriptions for NSAIDs, opioids, and adjuvant agents were identified using five-digit National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey drug codes. Results: About 89% of the 206,879,848 weighted visits in the US from 2000 to 2007 recorded NSAIDs prescriptions in patients (mean age =75.4 years). Most NSAIDs users had Medicare (75%), and about 25% were prescribed with adjuvant medications considered inappropriate for their age. Compared to men, women were 1.79 times more likely to be prescribed NSAIDs. Conclusion: The high percentage of NSAIDs prescription in older patients is alarming. We recommend investigating the appropriateness of the high prevalence of NSAIDs use among older patients reported in our study. Keywords: pain management, NSAIDs, inappropriate adjuvant, AGS guideline, NAMC