Development of a standardized chart review method to identify drug-related hospital admissions in older people

Aim: We aimed to develop a standardized chart review method to identify drug-related hospital admissions (DRA) in older people caused by non-preventable adverse drug reactions and preventable medication errors including overuse, underuse and misuse of medications: the DRA adjudication guide. Methods: The DRA adjudication guide was developed based on design and test iterations with international and multidisciplinary input in 4 subsequent steps: literature review, evaluation of content validity using a Delphi consensus technique, a pilot test and a reliability study. Results: The DRA adjudication guide provides definitions, examples and step-by-step instructions to measure DRA. A 3-step standardized chart review method was elaborated including 1) data abstraction, 2) explicit screening with a newly developed trigger tool for DRA in older people and 3) consensus adjudication for causality by a pharmacist and a physician using the World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre and Hallas criteria. A 15-member international Delphi panel reached consensus agreement on 26 triggers for DRA in older people. The DRA adjudication guide showed good feasibility of use and achieved moderate inter-rater reliability for the evaluation of 16 cases by 4 European adjudication pairs (71% agreement, kappa = 0.41). Disagreements arose mainly for cases with potential underuse. Conclusions: The DRA adjudication guide is the first standardized chart review method to identify DRA in older persons. Content validity, feasibility of use and inter-rater reliability were found to be satisfactory. The method can be used as an outcome measure for interventions targeted at improving quality and safety of medication use in older people

Optimizing Therapy to Prevent Avoidable Hospital Admissions in Multimorbid Older Adults (OPERAM): cluster randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of optimising drug treatment on drug related hospital admissions in older adults with multimorbidity and polypharmacy admitted to hospital. DESIGN Cluster randomised controlled trial. SETTING 110 clusters of inpatient wards within university based hospitals in four European countries (Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, and Republic of Ireland) defined by attending hospital doctors. PARTICIPANTS 2008 older adults (≥70 years) with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic conditions) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs used long term). INTERVENTION Clinical staff clusters were randomised to usual care or a structured pharmacotherapy optimisation intervention performed at the individual level jointly by a doctor and a pharmacist, with the support of a clinical decision software system deploying the screening tool of older person's prescriptions and screening tool to alert to the right treatment (STOPP/START) criteria to identify potentially inappropriate prescribing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Primary outcome was first drug related hospital admission within 12 months. RESULTS 2008 older adults (median nine drugs) were randomised and enrolled in 54 intervention clusters (963 participants) and 56 control clusters (1045 participants) receiving usual care. In the intervention arm, 86.1% of participants (n=789) had inappropriate prescribing, with a mean of 2.75 (SD 2.24) STOPP/START recommendations for each participant. 62.2% (n=491) had ≥1 recommendation successfully implemented at two months, predominantly discontinuation of potentially inappropriate drugs. In the intervention group, 211 participants (21.9%) experienced a first drug related hospital admission compared with 234 (22.4%) in the control group. In the intention-to-treat analysis censored for death as competing event (n=375, 18.7%), the hazard ratio for first drug related hospital admission was 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.77 to 1.17). In the per protocol analysis, the hazard ratio for a drug related hospital admission was 0.91 (0.69 to 1.19). The hazard ratio for first fall was 0.96 (0.79 to 1.15; 237 v 263 first falls) and for death was 0.90 (0.71 to 1.13; 172 v 203 deaths). CONCLUSIONS Inappropriate prescribing was common in older adults with multimorbidity and polypharmacy admitted to hospital and was reduced through an intervention to optimise pharmacotherapy, but without effect on drug related hospital admissions. Additional efforts are needed to identify pharmacotherapy optimisation interventions that reduce inappropriate prescribing and improve patient outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02986425

Relationship between molecular pathogen detection and clinical disease in febrile children across Europe: a multicentre, prospective observational study

BackgroundThe PERFORM study aimed to understand causes of febrile childhood illness by comparing molecular pathogen detection with current clinical practice.MethodsFebrile children and controls were recruited on presentation to hospital in 9 European countries 2016-2020. Each child was assigned a standardized diagnostic category based on retrospective review of local clinical and microbiological data. Subsequently, centralised molecular tests (CMTs) for 19 respiratory and 27 blood pathogens were performed.FindingsOf 4611 febrile children, 643 (14%) were classified as definite bacterial infection (DB), 491 (11%) as definite viral infection (DV), and 3477 (75%) had uncertain aetiology. 1061 controls without infection were recruited. CMTs detected blood bacteria more frequently in DB than DV cases for N. meningitidis (OR: 3.37, 95% CI: 1.92-5.99), S. pneumoniae (OR: 3.89, 95% CI: 2.07-7.59), Group A streptococcus (OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.13-6.09) and E. coli (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.02-6.71). Respiratory viruses were more common in febrile children than controls, but only influenza A (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.11-0.46), influenza B (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.02-0.37) and RSV (OR 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06-0.36) were less common in DB than DV cases. Of 16 blood viruses, enterovirus (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.23-0.72) and EBV (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.56-0.90) were detected less often in DB than DV cases. Combined local diagnostics and CMTs respectively detected blood viruses and respiratory viruses in 360 (56%) and 161 (25%) of DB cases, and virus detection ruled-out bacterial infection poorly, with predictive values of 0.64 and 0.68 respectively.InterpretationMost febrile children cannot be conclusively defined as having bacterial or viral infection when molecular tests supplement conventional approaches. Viruses are detected in most patients with bacterial infections, and the clinical value of individual pathogen detection in determining treatment is low. New approaches are needed to help determine which febrile children require antibiotics.FundingEU Horizon 2020 grant 668303

Health information technology to improve patient safety : focus on medication reconciliation

(MED - Sciences médicales) -- UCL, 201

Electronic tools to support medication reconciliation - a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: Medication reconciliation (MedRec) is essential for reducing patient harm caused by medication discrepancies across care transitions. Electronic support has been described as a promising approach to moving MedRec forward. We systematically reviewed the evidence about electronic tools that support MedRec, by (a) identifying tools; (b) summarizing their characteristics with regard to context, tool, implementation, and evaluation; and (c) summarizing key messages for successful development and implementation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library, and identified additional reports from reference lists, reviews, and patent databases. Reports were included if the electronic tool supported medication history taking and the identification and resolution of medication discrepancies. Two researchers independently selected studies, evaluated the quality of reporting, and extracted data. RESULTS: Eighteen reports relative to 11 tools were included. There were eight quality improvement projects, five observational effectiveness studies, three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or RCT protocols (ie, descriptions of RCTs in progress), and two patents. All tools were developed in academic environments in North America. Most used electronic data from multiple sources and partially implemented functionalities considered to be important. Relevant information on functionalities and implementation features was frequently missing. Evaluations mainly focused on usability, adherence, and user satisfaction. One RCT evaluated the effect on potential adverse drug events. CONCLUSION: Successful implementation of electronic tools to support MedRec requires favorable context, properly designed tools, and attention to implementation features. Future research is needed to evaluate the effect of these tools on the quality and safety of healthcare

STOPP/START.v2 : un outil à jour pour la qualité de la prescription chez les patients âgés de 65 ans et plus

L’outil STOPP/START.v2, mis à jour et présenté ici sous une forme pratique et synthétique, permet l’évaluation des traitements médicamenteux prescrits aux patients de 65 ans et plus. Cet outil s’intègre à une démarche globale d’amélioration de la prise en charge du patient âgé et est destiné à tous les milieux de soins. L’outil permet entre autres de mettre en évidence les médicaments des systèmes nerveux et cardiovasculaire, fréquemment inappropriés dans cette population. Destiné à stimuler la remise en question des médicaments pris par le patient, l’outil s’utilise en concertation avec des collègues soignants et en partenariat avec le patient.[STOPP/START.v2: an uptodate tool for high-quality prescribing in older patients] The STOPP/START.v2 tool allows medications prescribed to patients aged 65 years and over to be assessed. This tool is presented here in a practical, updated, and synthetic manner. STOPP/START.v2 is meant to be part of an overall improvement process while managing elderly patients and is designed for all healthcare settings. The use of this tool emphasizes certain medications pertaining to the cardiovascular and central nervous systems that are often improperly prescribed in elderly patients. The medication review using STOPP/START.v2 should be performed in collaboration with other healthcare professionals and in close partnership with the patient

Medication safety: analysis the use of drug alerts after conversion to a commercial electronic health record

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Interruptive clinical decision support (CDS) integrated to computerized prescriber order entry can alert physicians about potential risks and suggest suitable alternatives. Physicians bypass most of them, limiting their effectiveness. The study assesses the effects of conversion to a commercial electronic health record (EHR) (Epic®) on the use of drug alerts. [...

Inappropriate Combined Antiplatelet and Anticoagulant Therapy in Older Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Trend over Time (2009–18)

Background and Objectives: Antiplatelet therapy, when prescribed in combination with anticoagulant therapy to older patients with atrial fibrillation and no recent cardiovascular event, is inappropriate and a reversible risk factor of major bleeding. We aimed to assess the trend over time of the prevalence of inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy and to determine its associated factors during the direct oral anticoagulant era. Methods: This was a study of consecutive older patients (age ≥ 75 years) with atrial fibrillation, receiving anticoagulant therapy upon admission, and undergoing a comprehensive geriatric assessment during their first admission in a Belgian teaching hospital between 2009 and 2018. Antiplatelet therapy was considered inappropriate in the absence of a recent cardiovascular event. We studied the prevalence of inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy by 2-year periods and assessed its associated factors since the year 2013. Results: Inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy was identified in 21% of the 654 patients (median age 84 years, 51% women), with a prevalence decreasing (p ≤ 0.01) from 25% (2009–10) to 14.8% (2017–18). Among the 469 patients recruited during the direct oral anticoagulant era, inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy (19%) was associated in a multivariable analysis with a history of stroke/transient ischemic attack (odds ratio 2.13, p = 0.007), anticoagulation with low-molecular-weight heparin (odds ratio 3.44, p = 0.015), and a history of vascular disease (odds ratio 5.68, p < 0.001). Conclusions: While inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy has declined over the last decade, there is still room for improvement. Antiplatelet deprescribing should be considered in all patients with inappropriate combined antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy, including those with vascular disease and no recent cardiovascular even