Identifying the prevalence of adverse drug events associated with potentially inappropriate medications using the Screening Tool of Older Persons’ Prescriptions criteria

摘要

Abstract Objectives The study's primary objective was to determine the prevalence of adverse drug events ( ADE s) that could be identified using the Screening Tool of Older Persons’ Prescriptions ( STOPP ) criteria. Secondary objectives included characterizing and identifying the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications ( PIM s) and ADE s in the study population, classifying each of the identified ADE using the Naranjo scale, and identifying the time required to use this tool in the clinical setting. Methods The STOPP criteria were used to identify PIM s in elderly patients’ charts with a documented ADE . Patients who were found to have at least one PIM were reviewed to determine whether the documented ADE could be attributed to the PIM . Key findings A total of 290 PIM s were identified across three points of care: admission, hospital stay and discharge. The most prevalent types of PIM s were proton pump inhibitors (21%), benzodiazepines (14.1%) and duplicate drug class (7.9%). The most common ADE s that could be attributed to a PIM were incontinence associated with alpha‐blockers (37.5%) and constipation associated with calcium‐channel blockers (14.6%). The median time required for chart review on admission, hospital stay and discharge was 2, 2, and 1 minute, respectively. Conclusions The study suggests a large number of patients are affected by PIM s and secondary ADE s. With the short time that is needed to review patients’ medications, the STOPP criteria may be beneficial in reducing the number of ADE s associated with PIM s.