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Objectives: To evaluate whether STOPP/START v2 potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) are associated with 6-month mortality and unplanned hospitalization in hospital-discharged older patients., Design: Multicenter prospective cohort observational study., Setting and Participants: Patients aged ≥65 years consecutively discharged from acute geriatric and internal medicine wards of 2 teaching hospitals in northwestern Italy., Methods: At discharge, a comprehensive geriatric assessment was performed in each patient, prescribed medications were recorded, and PIMs and PPOs were determined according to STOPP/START v2. Death and unplanned readmissions at 6 months were investigated through telephone interviews; variables associated with outcomes were identified in the overall sample and according to discharge setting [ie, home vs medium/long-term care facility (MLTCF)] through a multivariate logistic regression model., Results: Among 611 patients (mean age 81.6 years, 48.4% females, 34.2% MLTCF-discharged, mean number of drugs 7.7 ± 3.2) with a potentially inappropriate prescription (PIP) prevalence at discharge of 71.7% (PIMs 54.8%, PPOs 47.3%), mortality and unplanned readmission rates were 25.0% and 30.9%. Neither PIMs nor PPOs were associated with overall mortality. A higher number of PIMs was significantly associated with unplanned readmission in the overall sample [odds ratio (OR) 1.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.46] and in home-discharged patients (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.13-1.68). The number of drugs at discharge was associated with unplanned readmissions in the overall sample (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.05-1.18) and in MLTCF-discharged patients (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.13-1.42). PPOs were not significantly associated with clinical outcomes., Conclusions/implications: In hospital-discharged older patients with polymorbidity, 6-month unplanned readmissions were associated with a higher number of PIMs in home-discharged patients and with number of drugs in MLTCF-discharged patients. This reaffirms the importance of performing a systematic and careful review of medication appropriateness in hospital-discharged older patients., (Copyright © 2019 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence and predictors of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) and potential prescribing omissions (PPO) in hospital-discharged older patients, according to the recently updated Screening Tool of Older People's Prescriptions and Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment version 2 criteria., Methods: This was a multicenter prospective observational study of patients aged ≥65 years consecutively discharged from geriatric and internal medicine wards. Each patient underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment, and PIM and PPO at discharge were determined according to the Screening Tool of Older People's Prescriptions and Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment version 2 criteria. A multivariate logistic regression was carried out to identify variables independently associated with PIM and PPO., Results: Among 726 participants (mean age 81.5 years, 47.8% women), the prevalence of PIM and PPO were 54.4% and 44.5%, respectively. Benzodiazepines and proton-pump inhibitors were the drugs most frequently involved with PIM, whereas PPO were often related to 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, statins and drugs for osteoporosis. The number of medications (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.15-1.28) and discharge from geriatric units (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.40-0.75) were associated with PIM, whereas PPO were independently associated with discharge from geriatric wards (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.31-0.62), age (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.07), comorbidities (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04-1.30) and the number of drugs (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.05-1.18)., Conclusions: Inappropriate prescribing is highly prevalent among hospital-discharged older patients, and is associated with polypharmacy and discharge from internal medicine departments. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 5-11., (© 2018 Japan Geriatrics Society.)

Aim: Potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIP) have been highly reported in older patients, but few studies have investigated their association with adverse clinical outcomes. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of PIP in hospital-discharged older adults, and to explore the association of PIP with death and rehospitalization., Methods: We carried out a multicenter prospective cohort study on hospital-discharged patients aged ≥65 years. Each patient underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment, and the prevalence of PIP was obtained by applying Beers Criteria 2015 to discharge documents. Telephone follow up was carried out at 6 months., Results: The prevalence of PIP was 63%, and was associated with psychiatric-behavioral disorders (OR 1.64), the number of daily taken medications (OR 1.08) and long-term care discharge (OR 1.91), whereas better functional performance was protective (OR 0.93). Neither the presence nor the number of PIP were associated with rehospitalization or mortality at 6 months. However, insulin sliding scale (OR 4.97) and use of drugs inappropriate in heart failure (OR 4.64) were associated with an increased risk of rehospitalization, whereas prescription of digoxin ≥0.125 mg/daily (OR 1.77) and antipsychotics (OR 1.65) were associated with a higher risk of mortality., Conclusions: Among older hospital-discharged patients, we documented a high prevalence of PIP that was significantly associated with polytherapy, the presence of psychiatric-behavioral disorders and discharge to long-term care facilities. Although the presence and the number of PIP were not associated with adverse outcomes, some specific inappropriate prescriptions were associated with a higher risk of hospital readmission and death. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 561-568., (© 2017 Japan Geriatrics Society.)