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A comparison of the B eers and STOPP criteria for identifying the use of potentially inappropriate medications among elderly patients in primary care
Author(s) -
Oliveira Márcio Galvão,
Amorim Welma Wildes,
Jesus Sandra Rêgo,
Heine Jacqueline Miranda,
Coqueiro Hérica Lima,
Passos Luiz Carlos Santana
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of evaluation in clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.737
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2753
pISSN - 1356-1294
DOI - 10.1111/jep.12319
Subject(s) - medicine , beers criteria , polypharmacy , medical prescription , emergency medicine , family medicine , pharmacology
Rationale, aims and objectives Explicit criteria for evaluating the appropriateness of medication use among the elderly have been extensively employed in several countries. The aim of the current study was to assess and characterize the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications ( PIMs ) according to the S creening T ool of O lder P eople's P rescriptions ( STOPP ) criteria and compare these data with the 2012 B eers criteria. Methods A prospective survey of the medications used by elderly patients was performed. A total of 142 participants were randomly selected via systematic sampling. The B eers and STOPP criteria were applied to evaluate the use of PIMs among the sample. All of the medications included in these criteria were assessed for their availability in B razil. The prevalence of PIMs was chosen as an occurrence measure and compared among the exposure group using the prevalence ratio ( PR ) as a measure of association. Results The prevalence of PIM use in the sample was 33.8% according to the STOPP criteria and 51.8% using the 2012 B eers criteria. The most prevalent PIMs according to the B eers criteria were short‐acting nifedipine (17.4%) and glyburide (11.9%); according to the STOPP criteria, they were acetylsalicylic acid (32.9%), clonazepam (10.1%) and diclofenac (6.3%). The use of four or more drugs (polypharmacy) was associated with a higher prevalence of PIM use ( PR = 3.11, 95% CIs = 1.65–5.85). Conclusions The 2012 B eers criteria identified more PIMs than the STOPP criteria. This difference highlights the need to develop national criteria.