TY - JOUR

T1 - Exploration of Symptom Scale as an Outcome for Deprescribing

T2 - A Medication Review Study in Nursing Homes

AU - Dalin, Dagmar Abelone

AU - Frandsen, Sara

AU - Madsen, Gitte Krogh

AU - Vermehren, Charlotte

N1 - Funding Information: Funding: We thank the The Danish Ministry of Health for funding to conduct the present study.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - The use of inappropriate medication is an increasing problem among the elderly, leading to hospitalizations, mortality, adverse effects, and lower quality of life (QoL). Deprescribing interventions (e.g., medication reviews (MRs)) have been examined as a possible remedy for this problem. In order to be able to evaluate the potential benefits and harms of a deprescribing intervention, quality of life (QoL) has increasingly been used as an outcome. The sensitivity of QoL measurements may, however, not be sufficient to detect a change in specific disease symptoms, e.g., a flair-up in symptoms or relief of side effects after deprescribing. Using symptom assessments as an outcome, we might be able to identify and evaluate the adverse effects of overmedication and deprescribing alike. The objective of this study was to explore whether symptom assessment is a feasible and valuable method of evaluating outcomes of MRs among the elderly in nursing homes. To the best of our knowledge, this has not been investigated before. We performed a feasibility study based on an experimental design and conducted MRs for elderly patients in nursing homes. Their symptoms were registered at baseline and at a follow-up 3 months after performing the MR. In total, 86 patients, corresponding to 68% of the included patients, received the MR and completed the symptom questionnaires as well as the QoL measurements at baseline and follow-up, respectively. Forty-eight of these patients had at least one deprescribing recommendation implemented. Overall, a tendency towards the improvement of most symptoms was seen after deprescribing, which correlated with the tendencies observed for the QoL measurements. Remarkably, deprescribing did not cause a deterioration of symptoms or QoL, which might otherwise be expected for patients of this age group, of whom the health is often rapidly declining. In conclusion, it was found that symptom assessments were feasible among nursing home residents and resulted in additional relevant information about the potential benefits and harms of deprescribing. It is thus recommended to further explore the use of symptom assessment as an outcome of deprescribing interventions, e.g., in a controlled trial.

AB - The use of inappropriate medication is an increasing problem among the elderly, leading to hospitalizations, mortality, adverse effects, and lower quality of life (QoL). Deprescribing interventions (e.g., medication reviews (MRs)) have been examined as a possible remedy for this problem. In order to be able to evaluate the potential benefits and harms of a deprescribing intervention, quality of life (QoL) has increasingly been used as an outcome. The sensitivity of QoL measurements may, however, not be sufficient to detect a change in specific disease symptoms, e.g., a flair-up in symptoms or relief of side effects after deprescribing. Using symptom assessments as an outcome, we might be able to identify and evaluate the adverse effects of overmedication and deprescribing alike. The objective of this study was to explore whether symptom assessment is a feasible and valuable method of evaluating outcomes of MRs among the elderly in nursing homes. To the best of our knowledge, this has not been investigated before. We performed a feasibility study based on an experimental design and conducted MRs for elderly patients in nursing homes. Their symptoms were registered at baseline and at a follow-up 3 months after performing the MR. In total, 86 patients, corresponding to 68% of the included patients, received the MR and completed the symptom questionnaires as well as the QoL measurements at baseline and follow-up, respectively. Forty-eight of these patients had at least one deprescribing recommendation implemented. Overall, a tendency towards the improvement of most symptoms was seen after deprescribing, which correlated with the tendencies observed for the QoL measurements. Remarkably, deprescribing did not cause a deterioration of symptoms or QoL, which might otherwise be expected for patients of this age group, of whom the health is often rapidly declining. In conclusion, it was found that symptom assessments were feasible among nursing home residents and resulted in additional relevant information about the potential benefits and harms of deprescribing. It is thus recommended to further explore the use of symptom assessment as an outcome of deprescribing interventions, e.g., in a controlled trial.

KW - aged

KW - aged, 80 and over

KW - deprescribing

KW - deprescriptions

KW - medication review

KW - nursing homes

KW - quality of life

U2 - 10.3390/ph15050505

DO - 10.3390/ph15050505

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35631333

AN - SCOPUS:85129425105

VL - 15

JO - Pharmaceuticals

JF - Pharmaceuticals

SN - 1424-8247

IS - 5

M1 - 505

ER -