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Anticholinergic Drug Burden in Noncancer Versus Cancer Patients Near the End of Life.

ABSTRACT: CONTEXT:Anticholinergic drugs can cause several side effects, impairing cognition and quality of life (QOL). Cancer patients are often exposed to increasing cumulative anticholinergic load (ACL) as they approach death, but this burden has not been examined in patients with nonmalignant diseases. OBJECTIVES:To determine ACL and its impact in noncancer versus cancer palliative care patients. METHODS:We performed a secondary analysis of 244 subjects enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. ACL was quantified with the Anticholinergic Drug Scale. We used multivariable regression to calculate the effect of ACL on key outcomes, including drowsiness, fatigue, and QOL. Patients were stratified by diagnosis, and drugs were grouped as symptom management (SM) or disease management (DM). RESULTS:Overall, ACL in cancer and noncancer patients was not significantly different (2.6 vs. 2.4; P = 0.23). SM drugs caused greater anticholinergic exposure than DM drugs in both cancer and noncancer patients (2.3 vs. 0.5, and 1.5 vs. 1.3, respectively; both P < 0.05); however, DM drugs exposed noncancer patients to relatively more ACL than cancer patients (1.2 vs. 0.6, P < 0.0001). ACL was associated with worse fatigue (odds ratio, 1.08; CI, 1.002-1.17) and worse QOL (odds ratio, 0.89; CI, 0.80-0.98). CONCLUSIONS:ACL is associated with worse fatigue and QOL and may not differ significantly between cancer and noncancer patients nearing end of life. SM drugs are more responsible for ACL in cancer and noncancer patients, although DM drugs contribute significantly to ACL in the latter group. We recommend more attention to reducing anticholinergic use in all patients with life-limiting illness.

SUBMITTER: Hochman MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5472041 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Anticholinergic Drug Burden in Noncancer Versus Cancer Patients Near the End of Life.

Hochman Michael J MJ Kamal Arif H AH Wolf Steven P SP Samsa Greg P GP Currow David C DC Abernethy Amy P AP LeBlanc Thomas W TW

Journal of pain and symptom management 20160920 5

<h4>Context</h4>Anticholinergic drugs can cause several side effects, impairing cognition and quality of life (QOL). Cancer patients are often exposed to increasing cumulative anticholinergic load (ACL) as they approach death, but this burden has not been examined in patients with nonmalignant diseases.<h4>Objectives</h4>To determine ACL and its impact in noncancer versus cancer palliative care patients.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed a secondary analysis of 244 subjects enrolled in a randomized co ...[more]

PMID: 27663186

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Project description:Background and objectivesThe clinical progression of severe dementia frequently leads to situations where surrogate decision makers must quickly make choices about potentially burdensome treatments that offer limited clinical benefit. We examined whether the number of decision makers and their access to advance directives were related to treatment choice for patients with severe dementia in comparison to those with normal cognition.Research design and methodsWe retrospectively linked survey responses about end-of-life treatment decisions to Medicare claims for Health and Retirement Study respondents dying between 2002 and 2015 whose next-of-kin reported a need for surrogate decision making. We estimated multivariable logistic regression models to study measures of aggressive care in the last 6 months of life; in-hospital death, burdensome transfers, and burdensome treatments.ResultsCompared to patients who were cognitively normal near the end of life (n = 1 198), patients with severe dementia (n = 722) were less likely to experience burdensome treatments (18% [95% confidence interval {CI} 14-21] vs 32% [95% CI 29-35]), burdensome transfers (20% [95% CI 17-24] vs 30% [95% CI 27-33]), and in-hospital death (24% [95% CI 20-28] vs 30% [95% CI 26-33]) when surrogates were involved. Rates of burdensome treatments, transfers, or in-hospital death for decedents with severe dementia did not vary with single versus multiple decision makers or when decision makers were informed by advance directives. However, among decedents with normal cognition, a single decision maker informed by an advance directive was associated with the lowest rates of burdensome treatments and in-hospital death.Discussion and implicationsSurrogate decision makers made similar choices around end-of-life care for patients with severe dementia regardless of the number of decision makers and availability of advance directives. However, both advance directives and single decision makers were associated with less aggressive care for cognitively normal decedents.

Project description:ObjectivesThe aims of our study were to examine the anticholinergic drug use and to assess the association between anticholinergic burden and cognitive function in the multimorbid elderly patients of the MultiCare cohort.SettingMultiCare was conducted as a longitudinal cohort study in primary care, located in eight different study centres in Germany.Participants3189 patients (59.3% female).Primary and secondary outcome measuresBaseline data were used for the following analyses. Drugs were classified according to the well-established anticholinergic drug scale (ADS) and the recently published German anticholinergic burden (German ACB). Cognitive function was measured using a letter digit substitution test (LDST) and a mixed-effect multivariate linear regression was performed to calculate the influence of anticholinergic burden on the cognitive function.ResultsPatients used 1764 anticholinergic drugs according to ADS and 2750 anticholinergics according to the German ACB score (prevalence 38.4% and 53.7%, respectively). The mean ADS score was 0.8 (±1.3), and the mean German ACB score was 1.2 (±1.6) per patient. The most common ADS anticholinergic was furosemide (5.8%) and the most common ACB anticholinergic was metformin (13.7%). The majority of the identified anticholinergics were drugs with low anticholinergic potential: 80.2% (ADS) and 73.4% (ACB), respectively. An increasing ADS and German ACB score was associated with reduced cognitive function according to the LDST (-0.26; p=0.008 and -0.24; p=0.003, respectively).ConclusionMultimorbid elderly patients are in a high risk for using anticholinergic drugs according to ADS and German ACB score. We especially need to gain greater awareness for the contribution of drugs with low anticholinergic potential from the cardiovascular system. As anticholinergic drug use is associated with reduced cognitive function in multimorbid elderly patients, the importance of rational prescribing and also deprescribing needs to be further evaluated.Trial registration numberISRCTN89818205.

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Project description:IntroductionThere are increasing concerns about the negative impacts of chemotherapy near the end of life (EOL). There is discrepancy among different countries about its use, and little is known about the real-world situation in China.Patients and methodsThis retrospective study was conducted at six representative hospitals across China. Adult decedents with a record of advanced solid cancer and palliative chemotherapy were consecutively screened from 2010 through 2014. The prevalence of EOL chemotherapy within the last 1 month of life was set as the primary outcome. The correlations among EOL chemotherapy, clinicopathological features, and overall survival (OS) were investigated.ResultsA total of 3,350 decedents who had had cancer were consecutively included; 2,098 (62.6%) were male and the median age was 56 years (range, 20-88). There were 177 (5.3%), 387 (11.6%), and 837 (25.0%) patients who received EOL chemotherapy within the last 2 weeks, 1 month, and 2 months of life, respectively. We identified inferior OS (median OS, 7.1 vs. 14.2 months; hazard ratio, 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23-1.53; p < .001), more intensive treatments (e.g., admitted to intensive care unit [ICU] in the last month of life, received cardiopulmonary resuscitation and invasive ventilation support), and hospital death (odds ratio, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.14-2.06; p = .005) among patients who received continued chemotherapy within the last month compared with those who did not. However, subgroup analyses indicated that receiving oral agents correlated with fewer ICU admissions and lower rates of in-hospital death.ConclusionThis study showed that EOL chemotherapy is commonly used in China. Intravenous chemotherapy at the EOL significantly correlated with poor outcomes and the role of oral anticancer agents warrants further investigation. The Oncologist 2017;22:53-60Implications for Practice: The role of chemotherapy toward the end of life (EOL) in patients with solid cancers is debatable. This article is believed to be the first to report the current prevalence of EOL chemotherapy in China. This study found that, compared with oral anticancer agents, intravenous chemotherapy at the EOL was significantly associated with poor outcomes. Therefore, the role of oral anticancer agents at the EOL stage deserves further investigation.

Dataset Information

Anticholinergic Drug Burden in Noncancer Versus Cancer Patients Near the End of Life.

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Anticholinergic Drug Burden in Noncancer Versus Cancer Patients Near the End of Life.

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