Open AccessComorbidity polypharmacy score and its clinical utility: A pragmatic practitioner′s perspective
Author(s) -
Stanislaw P Stawicki,
Sarathi Kalra,
Christian Jones,
Carla F. Justiniano,
Thomas J. Papadimos,
Sagar Galwankar,
Scott Pappada,
John J. Feeney,
David C. Evans
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of emergencies, trauma and shock
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.313
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 0974-519X
pISSN - 0974-2700
DOI - 10.4103/0974-2700.161658
Subject(s) - polypharmacy , comorbidity , medicine , perspective (graphical) , multimorbidity , intensive care medicine , emergency medicine , psychiatry , artificial intelligence , computer science
Modern medical management of comorbid conditions has resulted in escalating use of multiple medications and the emergence of the twin phenomena of multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Current understanding of how the polypharmacy in conjunction with multimorbidity influences trauma outcomes is limited, although it is known that trauma patients are at increased risk for medication-related adverse events. The comorbidity-polypharmacy score (CPS) is a simple clinical tool that quantifies the overall severity of comorbidities using the polypharmacy as a surrogate for the "intensity" of treatment necessary to adequately control chronic medical conditions. Easy to calculate, CPS is derived by counting all known pre-injury comorbid conditions and medications. CPS has been independently associated with mortality, increased risk for complications, lower functional outcomes, readmissions, and longer hospital stays. In addition, CPS may help identify older trauma patients at risk of post-emergency department undertriage. The goal of this article was to review and refine the rationale for CPS and to provide an evidence-based outline of its potential clinical applications.