Project description:Elderly adults should avoid medications with anticholinergic effects since they may increase the risk of adverse events, including falls, delirium, and cognitive impairment. However, data on anticholinergic burden are limited in subpopulations, such as individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). The objective of this study was to determine whether anticholinergic burden was associated with adverse outcomes in a PD inpatient population.Using the Cerner Health Facts® database, we retrospectively examined anticholinergic medication use, diagnoses, and hospital revisits within a cohort of 16,302 PD inpatients admitted to a Cerner hospital between 2000 and 2011. Anticholinergic burden was computed using the Anticholinergic Risk Scale (ARS). Primary outcomes were associations between ARS score and diagnosis of fracture and delirium. Secondary outcomes included associations between ARS score and 30-day hospital revisits.Many individuals (57.8%) were prescribed non-PD medications with moderate to very strong anticholinergic potential. Individuals with the greatest ARS score (≥ 4) were more likely to be diagnosed with fractures (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.56, 95% CI: 1.29-1.88) and delirium (AOR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.08-2.40) relative to those with no anticholinergic burden. Similarly, inpatients with the greatest ARS score were more likely to visit the emergency department (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 1.32, 95% CI: 1.10-1.58) and be readmitted (AHR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.01-1.33) within 30-days of discharge.We found a positive association between increased anticholinergic burden and adverse outcomes among individuals with PD. Additional pharmacovigilance studies are needed to better understand risks associated with anticholinergic medication use in PD.
Project description:AimsA recent review identified 19 anticholinergic burden scales (ABSs) but no study has yet compared the impact of all 19 ABSs on delirium. We evaluated whether a high anticholinergic burden as classified by each ABS is associated with incident delirium.MethodWe performed a retrospective cohort study in a Swiss tertiary teaching hospital using data from 2015-2018. Included were patients aged ≥65, hospitalised ≥48 hours with no stay >24 hours in intensive care. Delirium was defined twofold: (i) ICD-10 or CAM and (ii) ICD-10 or CAM or DOSS. Patients' cumulative anticholinergic burden score, calculated within 24 hours after admission, was classified using a binary (<3: low, ≥3: high burden) and a categorical approach (0: no, 0.5-3: low, ≥3: high burden). Association was analysed using multivariable logistic regression.ResultsOver 25 000 patients (mean age 77.9 ± 7.6 years) were included. Of these, (i) 864 (3.3%) and (ii) 2770 (11.0%) developed delirium. Depending on the evaluated ABS, 4-63% of the patients were exposed to at least one anticholinergic drug. Out of 19 ABSs, (i) 14 and (ii) 16 showed a significant association with the outcomes. A patient with a high anticholinergic burden score had odds ratios (ORs) of 1.21 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.42) to 2.63 (95% CI: 2.28-3.03) for incident delirium compared to those with low or no burden.ConclusionA high anticholinergic burden within 24 hours after admission was significantly associated with incident delirium. Although prospective studies need to confirm these results, discontinuing or substituting drugs with a score of ≥3 at admission might be a targeted intervention to reduce incident delirium.
Project description:BACKGROUND: The objective of this analysis was to determine the ways in which patients' legal statuses at hospital admission and discharge are associated with select sociodemographic and clinical variables. This study specifically investigated differences between patients who were voluntary during both admission and discharge, patients who were involuntary on admission but voluntary on discharge (having converted to voluntary status during hospitalization), and patients who were involuntary during both admission and discharge. METHOD: Data were collected from the charts and treating clinicians of 227 consecutively discharged patients from two psychiatric units in a large, urban, county hospital in the southeastern United States. Based on results of bivariate tests, sociodemographic and clinical factors were entered into a polytomous logistic regression model to determine effect estimates (adjusted odds ratios). RESULTS: In the bivariate analyses, 15 variables were significantly associated with the trichotomous legal status. In the model, three factors were independently significantly associated with legal status, while controlling for four potential confounders: (1) whether or not the patient was experiencing psychotic symptoms at discharge, (2) whether or not the patient had documented medical problems requiring medication at discharge, and (3) the number of psychiatric medications. CONCLUSIONS: A generalized lack of treatment engagement and adherence among involuntary patients likely underlies significant differences between the groups in terms of psychotic symptoms, diagnosed medical problems requiring medications, and number of psychiatric medications at discharge. Studying legal status (and the process of legal status conversion from involuntary to voluntary) and its correlates is an important topic for further research.
Project description:To identify predictors of hospital inpatient admission of older Medicare beneficiaries after discharge from the emergency department (ED).Retrospective cohort study.Nonfederal California hospitals (n = 284).Visits of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older discharged from California EDs in 2007 (n = 505,315).Using the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development files, predictors of hospital inpatient admission within 7 days of ED discharge in older adults (?65) with Medicare were evaluated.Hospital inpatient admissions within 7 days of ED discharge occurred in 23,340 (4.6%) visits and were associated with older age (70-74: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-1.17; 75-79: AOR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.13-1.23; ?80: AOR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.35-1.46), skilled nursing facility use (AOR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.72-1.94), leaving the ED against medical advice (AOR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.67-1.98), and the following diagnoses with the highest odds of admission: end-stage renal disease (AOR = 3.83, 95% CI = 2.42-6.08), chronic renal disease (AOR = 3.19, 95% CI = 2.26-4.49), and congestive heart failure (AOR = 3.01, 95% CI = 2.59-3.50).Five percent of older Medicare beneficiaries have a hospital inpatient admission after discharge from the ED. Chronic conditions such as renal disease and heart failure were associated with the greatest odds of admission.
Project description:IntroductionSeveral adverse outcomes have been associated with anticholinergic burden (ACB), and these risks increase with age. Several approaches to measuring this burden are available but, to date, no comparison of their prognostic abilities has been conducted. This PROSPERO-registered systematic review (CRD42019115918) compared the evidence behind ACB measures in relation to their ability to predict risk of falling in older people.MethodsMedline (OVID), EMBASE (OVID), CINAHL (EMBSCO) and PsycINFO (OVID) were searched using comprehensive search terms and a validated search filter for prognostic studies. Inclusion criteria included: participants aged 65 years and older, use of one or more ACB measure(s) as a prognostic factor, cohort or case-control in design, and reporting falls as an outcome. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool.ResultsEight studies reporting temporal associations between ACB and falls were included. All studies were rated high risk of bias in ⩾1 QUIPS tool categories, with five rated high risk ⩾3 categories. All studies (274,647 participants) showed some degree of association between anticholinergic score and increased risk of falls. Findings were most significant with moderate to high levels of ACB. Most studies (6/8) utilised the anticholinergic cognitive burden scale. No studies directly compared two or more ACB measures and there was variation in how falls were measured for analysis.ConclusionThe evidence supports an association between moderate to high ACB and risk of falling in older people, but no conclusion can be made regarding which ACB scale offers best prognostic value in older people.Plain language summaryA review of published studies to explore which anticholinergic burden scale is best at predicting the risk of falls in older people Introduction: One third of older people will experience a fall. Falls have many consequences including fractures, a loss of independence and being unable to enjoy life. Many things can increase the chances of having a fall. This includes some medications. One type of medication, known as anticholinergic medication, may increase the risk of falls. These medications are used to treat common health issues including depression and bladder problems. Anticholinergic burden is the term used to describe the total effects from taking these medications. Some people may use more than one of these medications. This would increase their anticholinergic burden. It is possible that reducing the use of these medications could reduce the risk of falls. We need to carry out studies to see if this is possible. To do this, we need to be able to measure anticholinergic burden. There are several scales available, but we do not know which is best.Methods: We wanted to answer: 'Which anticholinergic scale is best at predicting the risk of falling in older people?'. We reviewed studies that could answer this. We did this in a systematic way to capture all published studies. We restricted the search in several ways. We only included studies relevant to our question.Results: We found eight studies. We learned that people who are moderate to high users of these medications (often people who will use more than one of these medications) had a higher risk of falling. It was less clear if people who have a lower burden (often people who only use one of these medications) had an increased risk of falling. The low number of studies prevented us from determining if one scale was better than another.Conclusion: These findings suggest that we should reduce use of these medications. This could reduce the number falls and improve the well-being of older people.
Project description:Background: Delirium in older inpatients is a serious problem. The presence of a window in the intensive care unit has been reported to improve delirium. However, no study has investigated whether window-side bed placement is also effective for delirium prevention in a general ward. Objectives: This study aims to clarify the association between admission to a window-side bed and delirium development in older patients in a general ward. Design: This research is designed as a retrospective cohort study of older patients admitted to the internal medicine departments of Shinshu University Hospital, Japan. Participants: The inclusion criteria were the following: (1) admitted to hospital internal medicine departments between April 2009 and December 2018, (2) older than 75 years, (3) admitted to a multi-patient room in a general ward, and (4) unplanned admission. The number of eligible patients was 1,556. Exposure: This study is a comparison of 495 patients assigned to a window-side bed (window group) with 1,061 patients assigned to a non-window-side bed (non-window group). When patients were transferred to the other type bed after admission, observation was censored. Main Measures: The main outcome of interest was "delirium with event" (e.g., the use of medication or physical restraint for delirium) within 14 days after admission as surveyed by medical chart review in a blinded manner. Key Results: The patients had a median age of 80 years and 38.1% were female. The main outcome was recorded in 36 patients in the window group (10.7 per thousand person-days) and 84 in the non-window group (11.7 per thousand person-days). Log-rank testing showed no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.78). Multivariate analysis with Cox regression modeling also revealed no significant association for the window group with main outcome development (adjusted hazard ratio 0.90, 95% confidence interval of 0.61-1.34). Conclusions: Admission to a window-side bed did not prevent delirium development in older patients admitted to a general ward.
Project description:BackgroundBladder anticholinergics are the most widely used drugs to treat overactive bladder (OAB) but can contribute to cumulative anticholinergic burden, which may be associated with adverse outcomes.ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the association between cumulative anticholinergic burden and healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs in older adults with OAB.Materials and methodsThis was a retrospective, observational study that used data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD database. Participants were aged ≥ 65 years with ≥ 3 years of continuous enrolment before and ≥ 2 years after the index date (date of OAB diagnosis or first prescription for any OAB drug between 1 April 2007 and 31 December 2015). The primary endpoint was the association between cumulative anticholinergic burden (assessed using the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden [ACB] scale during the 3-year pre-index period) and HRU (GP consultations, specialist referrals, urological tests, hospital admissions) over the 2-year post-index period.ResultsData from 23,561 adults were included in the analysis. Mean (SD) ACB scores in the pre- and post-index periods were 1.0 (1.1) and 2.4 (1.7), respectively; urological drugs contributed most (58.8%) to the latter. For the primary endpoint, higher pre-index ACB scores were associated with higher post-index HRU and costs. Mean (SD) ACB scores in the post-index period were 1.2 (1.3) and 2.5 (1.7) in those treated with mirabegron (beta-3 agonist) or bladder anticholinergics, respectively.LimitationsThe generalizability of the results outside the UK is unclear.ConclusionsIn older adults with OAB, higher anticholinergic burden before initiating OAB drugs is associated with higher HRU and costs. When making treatment decisions in older adults, consideration should be given to assessing the existing anticholinergic burden and using OAB treatments that do not add to this burden.
Project description:BackgroundAmong the previous studies about the ADL recovery and its predictors, the researches and resources used to study and protect the baseline-independent older patients from being permanently ADL-dependent was few. We aimed to describe the level of activities of daily living (ADL) at discharge and ADL change within 6?months after discharge in older patients who were ADL-independent before admission but became dependent because of acute illness, and to identify the predictors of early rehabilitation,so as to provide the basis to early intervention.MethodsStratified cluster sampling was used to recruit 520 hospitalised older patients who were ADL-independent from departments of internal medicine at two tertiary hospitals from August 2017 to May 2018. Demographics, clinical data, and ADL status at 1, 3, and 6?months after discharge were collected. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, Pearson's chi-square test,Spearman's correlation analysis, binary logistic regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.ResultsThere were 403 out of 520 patients completing the 6-month follow-up, and 229 (56.8%) regained independence at 6?months after discharge. There was an overall increasing trend in ADL with time. The recovery rate was the highest within the first month after discharge, gradually declined after 1?month, and changed less obviously from 3 to 6?months after discharge (p?<?0.001). ADL score at discharge (OR?=?1.034, p?<?0.001), age (OR?=?0.269, p?=?0.001), post-discharge residence (OR?=?0.390, p?<?0.05), and cognition status at discharge (OR?=?1.685, p?<?0.05) were predictors of ADL recovery. The area under the curve of the four predictors combined was 0.763 (p?<?0.001).ConclusionStudying ADL recovery rate and its predicting indicators of the baseline independent inpatients at different time points provide a theoretical reference for the formulation of nursing plans and allocation of care resources.
Project description:ObjectiveThis study examined whether communication between inpatient and outpatient mental health providers during patients' inpatient stays was associated with whether patients attended postdischarge appointments.MethodsPsychiatric inpatient medical records of 189 Medicaid recipients at two hospitals were reviewed to document whether inpatient staff had communicated with current or prior outpatient providers. Medicaid claims provided demographic, clinical, and outpatient attendance data. Associations between provider communications and follow-up care for patients who had or had not received outpatient mental health care within the 30 days prior to admission were evaluated.ResultsInpatient staff communicated with outpatient providers for 118 (62%) patients. For patients who had not received outpatient care within 30 days of admission, compared with those who had, communication was associated with increased odds of attending timely outpatient appointments (odds ratio=2.73, 95% confidence interval=1.09-6.84).ConclusionsCommunication with outpatient providers may be especially important for patients who were not engaged in outpatient care prior to admission.
Project description:ObjectivesTo evaluate concordance of five commonly used anticholinergic scales.DesignCross-sectional secondary analysis.SettingPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Memphis, Tennessee.ParticipantsCommunity-dwelling adults aged 70 to 79 with baseline medication data from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study (N = 3,055).MeasurementsAny anticholinergic use, weighted scores, and total standardized daily dosage were calculated using five anticholinergic measures (Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) Scale, Anticholinergic Drug Scale (ADS), Anticholinergic Risk Scale (ARS), Drug Burden Index anticholinergic component (DBI-ACh), and Summated Anticholinergic Medications Scale (SAMS)). Concordance was evaluated using kappa statistics and Spearman rank correlations.ResultsAny anticholinergic use in rank order was 51% for the ACB, 43% for the ADS, 29% for the DBI-ACh, 23% for the ARS, and 16% for the SAMS. Kappa statistics for all pairwise use comparisons ranged from 0.33 to 0.68. Similarly, concordance as measured using weighted kappa statistics ranged from 0.54 to 0.70 for the three scales not incorporating dosage (ADS, ARS, ACB). Spearman rank correlation between the DBI-ACh and SAMS was 0.50.ConclusionOnly low to moderate concordance was found between the five anticholinergic scales. Future research is needed to examine how these differences in measurement affect their predictive validity with respect to clinically relevant outcomes, such as cognitive impairment.