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Inappropriate prescribing in elderly people with diabetes admitted to hospital
Author(s) -
Formiga F.,
Vidal X.,
Agustí A.,
Chivite D.,
Rosón B.,
Barbé J.,
LópezSoto A.,
Torres O. H.,
FernándezMoyano A.,
García J.,
RamírezDuque N.,
San José A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
diabetic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.474
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1464-5491
pISSN - 0742-3071
DOI - 10.1111/dme.12894
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetes mellitus , polypharmacy , beers criteria , medical prescription , observational study , emergency medicine , geriatrics , pediatrics , psychiatry , pharmacology , endocrinology
Aims To assess inappropriate prescribing in older people with diabetes mellitus during the month prior to a hospitalization, using tools on potentially inappropriate medicines ( PIM s) and potential prescribing omissions ( PPO s) and comparing inappropriate prescribing in patients with without diabetes. Methods In an observational, prospective multicentric study, we assessed inappropriate prescribing in 672 patients aged 75 years and older during hospital admission. The Beers, Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions ( STOPP ) and Screening Tool to Alert Doctors to Right Treatment ( START ) criteria and Assessing Care of Vulnerable Elders ( ACOVE ‐3) medicine quality indicators were used. We analysed demographic and clinical factors associated with inappropriate prescribing. Results Of 672 patients, 249 (mean age 82.4 years, 62.9% female) had a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. The mean number of prescribing drugs per patient with diabetes was 12.6 (4.5) vs. 9.4 (4.3) in patients without diabetes ( P < 0.001). Of those patients with diabetes, 74.2% used 10 or more medications; 54.5% of patients with diabetes had at least one Beers‐listed PIM , 68.1% had at least one STOPP ‐listed PIM , 64.6% had at least one START ‐listed PPO and 62.8% had at least one ACOVE ‐3‐listed PPO . Except for the Beers criteria, these prevalences were significantly higher in patients with diabetes than in those without. After excluding diabetes‐related items from these tools, only STOPP ‐listed PIM s remained significantly higher among patients with diabetes ( P = 0.04). Conclusions Polypharmacy is common among older patients with diabetes mellitus. Inappropriate prescribing is higher in older patients with diabetes, even when diabetes‐related treatment is excluded from the inappropriate prescribing evaluation.