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Relationship between polypharmacy and inpatient hospitalization among older adults with cancer treated with intravenous chemotherapy.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Polypharmacy (≥5 concurrent medications) is common among older patients with cancer (48%-80%) and associated with increased frailty, morbidity, and mortality. This study examined the relationship between polypharmacy and inpatient hospitalization among older adults with cancer treated with intravenous (IV) chemotherapy.

Materials and methods

The main data source was the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare linked files. Patients (≥65 years) were included if they were diagnosed with prostate (n = 1430), breast (n = 5490), or lung cancer (n = 7309) in 1991-2013 and received IV chemotherapy in 2011-2014. The number of medications during the six-month window pre-IV chemotherapy initiation determined polypharmacy status. Negative binomial models were used to assess the association between polypharmacy and post-chemotherapy inpatient hospitalization. The results were presented as incidence rate ratios.

Results

We identified 13,959 patients with prostate, breast, or lung cancer treated with IV chemotherapy. The median number of prescription medications during the six-month window pre-IV chemotherapy initiation was high: ten among patients with prostate cancer, nine among patients with breast cancer, and eleven among patients with lung cancer. Compared to patients taking <5 prescriptions, post-chemotherapy hospitalization rate for patients with prostate cancer was 42%, 75%, and 114% higher among those taking 5-9, 10-14, and 15+ medications, respectively. Patients with breast and lung cancer demonstrated similar patterns.

Conclusion

This large population-based study found that polypharmacy during the six-month window pre-IV chemotherapy is highly predictive of post-chemotherapy inpatient hospitalization. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether medication management interventions can reduce post-chemotherapy inpatient hospitalization among older patients with cancer.

SUBMITTER: Lu-Yao G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8261864 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundReduced physical function and polypharmacy (PPha) are two highly prevalent negative effects of aging, which are expected to increase more, since demographic aging is expected to grow rapidly within the next decades. Previous research suggests that polypharmacy (PPha) is a predictor of poor physical function and vice versa in older adults and therefore we conducted a systematic review of the literature to summarize and critically analyze the relationship between physical function and PPha and vice versa in older adults, in order to provide recent scientific evidence.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE and Embase from their inception to 19th October 2018 for English-language observational studies or trials assessing the effect of PPha on physical function and vice versa in older adults. Two investigators independently extracted study data and assessed the quality of the studies, after having screened the available studies from the literature search. Any disagreement was resolved by consensus.ResultsEighteen observational studies met the inclusion criteria. Eight studies assessed the impact of physical function on PPha and ten studies assessed the impact of PPha on physical function. Regarding the studies with PPha measurements as the outcome, all of them, except for one, found that better physical function is associated with lower risk of PPha. Likewise, all the studies with physical function measurements as the outcome, except for one, suggested that PPha is associated with lower physical function.DiscussionEvidence examining the effect of PPha on physical function and vice versa in older adults suggests a strong bidirectional association between these two factors and clinicians should be aware of this strong relationship. The limitations of our study include the high variability in PPha definitions and physical function measures, and the treatment of PPha and physical function as constant instead of time-varying variables in the studies' analyses.

Project description:Polypharmacy, the concurrent use of multiple medications, consistently evokes a negative connotation, notably because it is associated with a plethora of adverse events. Nonetheless, the number of individuals exposed to polypharmacy is increasing steeply, especially for older people with multiple diseases. There is a need to carefully study the phenomenon at the population scale to full assess the associated health outcomes. Yet, this reveals a complex task because there exists no consensus indicator of polypharmacy. In fact, the definitions of polypharmacy are heterogeneous and its predisposing factors and associated outcomes are not well defined. The goal of this systematic review is to summarize the literature on polypharmacy in multimorbid individuals aged 65 years and over, targeting three objectives: (1) to identify the definitions of polypharmacy that are used in the context of multimorbidity among older individuals (?65 years); (2) to ascertain predisposing and concurrent factors associated with polypharmacy; and (3) to describe positive and negative outcomes of polypharmacy among older individuals, including hospitalizations, mortality and costs.We will include publications from 2004 to 2016 that target four concepts: polypharmacy, older individuals, multimorbidity and positive/negative outcomes. The search will be performed using EBM Reviews, Embase, Global Health, MEDLINE, AgeLine, CINAHL, Health Policy Reference Center, Public Affairs Index, SocINDEX and Google Scholar. Two independent reviewers will screen the articles, extract the information and evaluate the methodological quality of included studies. The results will be presented in tables and narrative summaries will be performed. We will perform meta-analyses (objective 3) if the heterogeneity is not important.This review will help describe the various ways of conceptualizing polypharmacy and how it is associated with health outcomes. We have selected outcomes most relevant for public surveillance performed with administrative databases. Other positive and negative outcomes have been associated with polypharmacy but may not be included in the review.PROSPERO CRD42014014989.