Potentially Inappropriate Prescription and Impact of Physician Training on Usage of Prescribing Screening Tools for the Elderly in a Secondary Healthcare Facility

Authors

  • Nina Stella Kute Pharmacy Department, Military Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.
  • Stella Folashade Usifoh Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benin, Benin- City, Nigeria.
  • Patrick Ifechukwu Oliorah Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51412/psnnjp.2024.23

Keywords:

Beers criteria, STOPP/START criteria, Potentially inappropriate prescription (PIP), Potential Prescribing Omissions (PPO), Older adults, Smartphone app, Elderly
         Abtract Views | PDF Download: 1 / 0

Abstract

Background: Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing (PIP) for the elderly is widespread and is a risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality among them. The Beers criteria and “Screening Tools of Other Persons' potentially inappropriate Prescriptions (STOPP) and Screening Tools to Alert doctors to Right Treatment (START) criteria” have been validated to reduce PIP prevalence in the elderly when applied. However, many studies attest that a knowledge gap regarding PIP in geriatrics amongst prescribers contributes to the PIP surge. This study aims to assess the prevalence and predictors of PIP and also the impact of physician training on the usage of common prescribing tools for the elderly in a secondary healthcare facility.

Methods: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional before- and -after study. Case files of 220 ambulatory patients aged 65 years and above were retrieved and screened for Potential Inappropriate Medicines (PIMs) and Potential Prescribing Omissions (PPOs) using the Beers criteria (2019) and STOPP/START criteria (2015). Subsequently a comprehensive training session was held for
physicians on the utilization of the Beers and STOPP/START criteria in geriatric pharmacotherapy and the use of screening tools-based smartphone application (app) in reducing PIP among the elderly. The prevalence and pattern of PIM/PPO before and after the intervention were compared on the same case files 2 months later to determine the impact of the training on the pattern and prevalence of PIP.

Results: The mean age was 73.6±6.1years and 54.5% were males. About 76.1% of the population had multi-morbidity and hypertension was the most common affecting 69.1% of participants while diabetes followed at 13.2%. The mean number of medications observed was 5.49±2.35 per patient before and 5.01±2.22 after the intervention. The most prescribed PIMs according to STOPP and Beers criteria before and after the intervention were methyldopa, glimepiride, and glibenclamide. However, amitriptyline also made the list of the most prescribed Beers drug while the most omitted START drug was regular inhaled corticosteroid for frequent exacerbation requiring systemic corticosteroid. The STOPP PIM prevalence was significantly reduced from 37.7% to 29.1% after intervention (P= 0.045) while the START Potentially PPOs prevalence of 4.5% (P=0.5000) and Beers PIM prevalence of 30% (P=0.3014) were not significantly reduced after the intervention. The overall PIP prevalence was reduced considerably from 24 in 100 patients to 18 in 100 patients (P=0.002) The binary logistic regression indicated that females, lower education, and multimorbidity, patients receiving more than five drugs, and those with active occupation were significant predictors of PIP in this study.

Conclusion: The prevalence of PIP among the elderly was relatively high. Beers and STOPP/START criteria-based educational training coupled with the introduction and installation of a smartphone screening tool application for physicians effectively reduced overall PIP among the elderly. Continuous education in geriatric pharmacotherapy for physicians is necessary to reduce PIP prevalence in the elderly. 

 

References

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division, World Population Ageing (ST/ESA/SER. A/390); 2015.

Av a i l a b l e f r o m : https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/popula tion/publications/pdf/ageing/wpa2015_report.pdf. Accessed March 2, 2023.

National Bureau of Statistics. Statistical report on women and men in Nigeria; 2015. Available from: http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/download/49. Accessed July 7, 2023.

National Population Commission, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Population and Housing Census Priority Table Volume IV; Population

distribution by age and sex (State and Local government); 2006.

Whehling M (2011) Drug Therapy for the Elderly. 2011;35-42.

Baradaran H, Nasirpur M, Hamishehkar H (2020) The Effect of Beers Criteria-Based Training in General Practitioners on Prescribing Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Elderly Patients. Journal of Pharmaceutical Care 10(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.18502/jpc.v8i2.3829.

Rothberg MB, Herzig SJ, Pekov PS, Avrunin J, Lagu T (2013) Association between sedating medications and delirium in older inpatients.

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 61(6):923-930. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12253.

Gallagher P, Barry P, O'Mahony D (2007) Inappropriate prescribing in the elderly. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics

(2):113-121.

O'Connor MN, Gallagher P, O'Mahony D (2012) Inappropriate Prescribing: Criteria, Detection, and Prevention. Drugs Aging 29(6):437-452.

AlAqqad SM, Chen LL, Asrul AS, Mohammed AH (2014) The use of potentially inappropriate medications and changes in quality of life among older nursing home residents. Clinical Interventions in Aging 9:20.

Galimberti F, Casula M, Scotti L, Olmastroni E, Ferrante D, Ucciero A, et al. (2022) Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing among Elderly

Outpatients: Evaluation of Temporal Trends 2012–2018 in Piedmont, Italy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public

H e a l t h 1 9 : 3 6 1 2 . Av a i l a b l e f r o m : https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063612. Accessed August 10, 2022.

Liew TM, Lee CS, Goh SKL, Chang ZY (2020) The prevalence and impact of potentially inappropriate prescribing among older persons in primary care settings: Multilevel meta-analysis. Age Ageing 49(4):570-579.

Wuruola Akande-Sholabi W, Adebusoye LA, Olowookere OO (2018) Potentially inappropriate medication use among older patients attending a geriatric centre in south-west Nigeria. Pharmacy Practice 16(3):1235-1242.

Beers E, Moerkeken DC, Leuflans HG, Egberts TC, Jansen PA (2014) Participation of elderly people in preauthorization trials of recently

approved medicines. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 62(10):1883-1890. doi: 10.1111/jgs.130067.

Emin P, Suleiman E, Selcuk E(2022) Effectiveness of STOPP/START Criteria in Primary Prevention of Polypharmacy and Undertreatment in Older Patients. Therapie 77(3):361-369.

Squires JE, Sullivan K, Eccles MP (2014) Are multifaceted interventions more effective than single-component interventions in changing

health-care professionals' behaviors? An overview of systematic reviews. Implementation Science 9:152. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-014-0152-6.

Fadare JO, Abimbola Magaret O, Okezie O, Olufemi O (2019) Physicians' Knowledge of Appropriate Prescribing for the Elderly – A

Survey Among Family and Internal Medicine Physicians in Nigeria. Front Pharmacology. Av a i l a b l e f r o m : https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2019.00592. Accessed March 20, 2022.

Akkawi ME, Mohamed MH, Aris MA (2020) The impact of a multifaceted intervention to reduce potentially inappropriate prescribing among discharged older adults: A before and after study. Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Page| 33218. 13:39.Akoria OA (2016). Establishing in-hospital geriatrics services in Africa: Insights from the University of Benin Teaching Hospital geriatrics project. Annals of African Medicine 15(3):145- 153. doi: 10.4103/1596-3519.188896.

Abubakar U, Tanglisuran B, Kolo M, Yamma A, Hammad M, Sulaiman S (2021) Prevalence and predictors of potentially inappropriate medication use among ambulatory older adults in Northern Nigeria. Drugs & Therapy Perspectives 37:94-99.

Giri S, Khan GM (2020) Prescribing pattern and appropriateness of prescription among elderly patients in a tertiary care hospital of western Nepal – A prospective cross-sectional study. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research 13(4):126-131.

Sleep Foundation. Insomnia and older adults. Alexa Fry and Anis Rehman. 2023. Available f ro m :https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/older-adults. Accessed December 10, 2023.

Saka SA, Oosthuizen F, Nlooto M (2019) Potential inappropriate prescribing and associated factors among older persons in Nigeria and South Africa. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy 41:207-214.

Tang J, Wang K, Yan S (2023) A combination of Beers and STOPP Criteria better detects potentially inappropriate medications use among

older hospitalized patients with chronic diseases and polypharmacy: A multicenter cross-sectional study. BMC Geriatrics 23:44.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-03743-2. Accessed March 4, 2023.

Akanji BO, Ogunniyi A, Baiyewu O (2002) Healthcare for older persons: A country profile of Nigeria. Journal of the American Geriatrics

Society 50:1289-1292.

Sharma R, Bansal P, Sharma A, Chhabra M, Kumar R, Arora M (2021) Prevalence and predictors of Potentially Inappropriate

Psychotropic Medication in older adults with psychiatric illness. Asian Journal of Psychiatry 66:102872.

Jabri FF, Liang Y, Alhawassi TM, Johnell K, Möller J (2023) Potentially inappropriate medications in older adults—Prevalence, trends,

and associated factors: A cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia. Healthcare 11:2003. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11142003.

Philippe T, Tamblyn R, Benedetti A, Ahmed S, Tannenbaum C (2018) Effect of a Pharmacist-Led Educational Intervention on Inappropriate Medication Prescriptions in Older Adults: The D- PRESCRIBE Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 320(18): 1889 - 1898. doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.16131.

Downloads

Published

2024-11-04

How to Cite

Kute, N. S., Usifoh, S. F., & Oliorah, P. I. (2024). Potentially Inappropriate Prescription and Impact of Physician Training on Usage of Prescribing Screening Tools for the Elderly in a Secondary Healthcare Facility. The Nigerian Journal of Pharmacy, 58(2), 323–333. https://doi.org/10.51412/psnnjp.2024.23

Most read articles by the same author(s)