Recognition of cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients: a flash mob study.

BACKGROUND: It is important that healthcare professionals recognise cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients in order to address associated care needs, such as enhanced involvement of relatives and extra cognitive and functional support. However, studies analysing medical records suggest that healthcare professionals have low awareness of cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients, the percentage of patients in which cognitive dysfunction was recognised by healthcare professionals, and which variables were associated with recognition. METHODS: A multicentre, nationwide, cross-sectional observational study was conducted on a single day using a flash mob study design in thirteen university and general hospitals in the Netherlands. Cognitive function was assessed in hospitalised patients aged ≥ 65 years old, who were admitted to medical and surgical wards. A Mini-Cog score of < 3 out of 5 indicated cognitive dysfunction. The attending nurses and physicians were asked whether they suspected cognitive dysfunction in their patient. Variables associated with recognition of cognitive dysfunction were assessed using multilevel and multivariable logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: 347 of 757 enrolled patients (46%) showed cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive dysfunction was recognised by attending nurses in 137 of 323 patients (42%) and by physicians in 156 patients (48%). In 135 patients (42%), cognitive dysfunction was not recognised by either the attending nurse or physician. Recognition of cognitive dysfunction was better at a lower Mini-Cog score, with the best recognition in patients with the lowest scores. Patients with a Mini-Cog score < 3 were best recognised in the geriatric department (69% by nurses and 72% by physicians). CONCLUSION: Cognitive dysfunction is common in hospitalised older patients and is poorly recognised by healthcare professionals. This study highlights the need to improve recognition of cognitive dysfunction in hospitalised older patients, particularly in individuals with less apparent cognitive dysfunction. The high proportion of older patients with cognitive dysfunction suggests that it may be beneficial to provide care tailored to cognitive dysfunction for all hospitalised older patients.

Inappropriate benzodiazepine use in older adults and the risk of fracture.

AIMS: The Beers criteria for prescribing in elderly are well known and used for many drug utilization studies. We investigated the clinical value of the Beers criteria for benzodiazepine use, notably the association between inappropriate use and risk of fracture. METHODS: We performed a nested case-control study within the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study in 7983 elderly. The proportion of 'inappropriate' benzodiazepine use according to the Beers criteria was compared between fracture patients and controls. 'Inappropriate' use for elderly implies use of some long-acting benzodiazepines and some intermediate/short-acting ones exceeding a suggested maximum daily dose. Also, alternative criteria were applied to compare the risk of fracture. Cases were defined as persons with incident fracture between 1991 and 2002 who were current benzodiazepine users on the fracture date. Controls were matched on fracture date and were also current benzodiazepine users. RESULTS: The risk of fracture in 'inappropriate' benzodiazepine users according to the Beers criteria was not significantly different from 'appropriate' users [odds ratio (OR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72, 1.60]. However, a significantly higher risk of fracture was found in 'high dose' users and a longer duration of use (14-90 days), irrespective of the type of benzodiazepine (OR 3.45, 95% CI 1.38, 8.59). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that inappropriate benzodiazepine use according to the Beers criteria is not associated with increased risk of fracture. Daily dose and longer duration of use (>14 days) is associated with higher risk of fracture, irrespective of the type of benzodiazepine prescribed.

Adverse drug reaction-related hospitalisations: a population-based cohort study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the extent, characteristics and determinants of adverse drug reaction (ADR)-related hospitalisations on a population-based level in 2003. METHODS: We performed a cohort study in the Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) database, a general practitioners (GPs) research database with longitudinal data from electronic patient records of a group of 150 GP throughout the Netherlands. Hospital discharge letters and patient records were reviewed to evaluate ADR-related hospitalisations applying WHO causality criteria. The prevalence of ADR-related hospitalisations per total admissions and the incidence per drug group were calculated. Avoidability and seriousness of the ADRs causing admission were assessed applying the algorithm from Hallas. RESULTS: We identified 3515 hospital admissions, 1277 elective and 2238 acute. Of the acute admissions, 115 were caused by an ADR giving a prevalence of 5.1% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 4.3-6.1%). The prevalence of ADR-related acute admissions increased with age up to 9.8% (95%CI: 7.5-12.7) for persons >75 years. The ADRs that most frequently caused hospitalisations were gastro-intestinal bleeding with anti-thrombotics, bradycardia/hypotension with cardiovascular drugs and neutropenic fever with cytostatics. The incidence rate of ADR-related hospitalisations per drug group was highest for anti-thrombotics and anti-infectives and was relatively low for cardiovascular drugs. Fatality as a direct consequence of the ADR-related admission was 0.31%. In elderly patients 40% of the ADRs causing hospitalisation were judged to be avoidable. CONCLUSIONS: The extent and potential avoidability of ADR-related hospitalisations is still substantial, especially in elderly patients. Measures need to be put into place to reduce the burden of ADRs.

Corticosteroids and the risk of atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: High-dose (pulse) corticosteroid therapy has been associated with the development of atrial fibrillation. This association, however, is mainly based on case reports. METHODS: To test the hypothesis that high-dose corticosteroid exposure increases the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation, we performed a nested case-control study within the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study among 7983 older adults. Cases were defined as persons with incident atrial fibrillation between July 1, 1991, and January 1, 2000. Their date of diagnosis was defined as the index date. All noncases within the Rotterdam Study who were alive and eligible on this index date were used as controls. Subsequently, we compared the proportion of cases and controls that received a corticosteroid prescription within 1 month preceding the index date. Corticosteroid exposure was categorized into high-dose exposure (oral or parenteral steroid at a daily dose > or =7.5 mg of prednisone equivalents) and low-intermediate-dose exposure (<7.5 mg of prednisone equivalents or inhaled corticosteroids). RESULTS: There were 385 eligible cases of new-onset atrial fibrillation during the study period. The risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation was significantly higher for persons who received a corticosteroid prescription within 1 month before the index date than for those without (odds ratio [OR], 3.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.38-5.87). However, only high-dose corticosteroid use was associated with an increased risk (OR, 6.07; 95% CI, 3.90-9.42), whereas low-intermediate-dose use was not (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 0.72-2.82). The association of atrial fibrillation with high-dose corticosteroid use was largely independent of the indication for corticosteroid therapy, since the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation was not only increased in patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 4.02; 95% CI, 2.07-7.81) but also in patients with rheumatic, allergic, or malignant hematologic diseases (OR, 7.90; 95% CI, 4.47-13.98). CONCLUSION: Our findings strongly suggest that patients receiving high-dose corticosteroid therapy are at increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation.

Adverse drug reaction-related hospitalisations: a nationwide study in The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of adverse drug reaction (ADR)-related hospitalisations has usually been assessed within hospitals. Because of the variability in results and methodology, it is difficult to extrapolate these results to a national level. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the incidence and characteristics of ADR-related hospitalisations in The Netherlands in 2001. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide study of all hospital admissions in 2001. Data were retrieved from a nationwide computer database for hospital discharge records. All acute, non-planned admissions to all Dutch academic and general hospitals in 2001 were included in the study (n = 668 714). From these admissions we selected all hospitalisations that were coded as drug-related, but intended forms of overdose, errors in administration and therapeutic failures were excluded. Hence, we extracted all ADR-related hospitalisations. We compared age, sex and the risk of a fatal outcome between patients admitted with ADRs and patients admitted for other reasons, as well as the most frequent main diagnoses in ADR-related hospitalisations and which drugs most frequently caused the ADRs. In addition, we evaluated to what extent these ADRs were reported to the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb for spontaneous ADR reporting. RESULTS: In 2001, 12 249 hospitalisations were coded as ADR related. This was 1.83% of all acute hospital admissions in The Netherlands (95% CI 1.80, 1.86). The proportion increased with age from 0.8% (95% CI 0.75, 0.85) in the <18 years group to 3.2% in the >/=80 years group (95% CI 3.08, 3.32). The most frequent ADR-related diagnoses of hospitalisations were bleeding (n = 1048), non-specified 'unintended effect of drug' (n = 438), hypoglycaemia (n = 375) and fever (n = 347). The drugs most commonly associated with ADR-related hospitalisations were anticoagulants (n = 2185), cytostatics and immunosuppressives (n = 1809) and diuretics (n = 979). Six percent of the ADR-related hospitalisations had a fatal outcome (n = 734). Older age and female gender were associated with ADR-related hospitalisations. Only approximately 1% of the coded ADRs causing hospitalisation were reported to our national centre for spontaneous ADR reporting. CONCLUSION: The proportion of ADR-related hospitalisations is substantial, especially considering the fact that not all ADRs may be recognised or mentioned in discharge letters. Under-reporting of ADRs that result in hospital admission to our national centre for spontaneous ADR reporting was considerable.

Drug-induced atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained rhythm disorder observed in clinical practice and predominantly associated with cardiovascular disorders such as coronary heart disease and hypertension. However, several classes of drugs may induce AF in patients without apparent heart disease or may precipitate the onset of AF in patients with preexisting heart disease. We reviewed the literature on drug-induced AF, using the PubMed/Medline and Micromedex databases and lateral references. Successively, we discuss the potential role in the onset of AF of cardiovascular drugs, respiratory system drugs, cytostatics, central nervous system drugs, genitourinary system drugs, and some miscellaneous agents. Drug-induced AF may play a role in only a minority of the patients presenting with AF. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize drugs or other agents as a potential cause, especially in the elderly, because increasing age is associated with multiple drug use and a high incidence of AF. This may contribute to timely diagnosis and management of drug-induced AF.

Prolonged QTc interval and risk of sudden cardiac death in a population of older adults.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to investigate whether prolongation of the heart rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval is a risk factor for sudden cardiac death in the general population. BACKGROUND: In developed countries, sudden cardiac death is a major cause of cardiovascular mortality. Prolongation of the QTc interval has been associated with ventricular arrhythmias, but in most population-based studies no consistent association was found between QTc prolongation and total or cardiovascular mortality. Only very few of these studies specifically addressed sudden cardiac death. METHODS: This study was conducted as part of the Rotterdam Study, a prospective population-based cohort study that comprises 3,105 men and 4,878 women aged 55 years and older. The QTc interval on the electrocardiogram was determined during the baseline visit (1990 to 1993) and the first follow-up examination (1993 to 1995). The association between a prolonged QTc interval and sudden cardiac death was estimated using Cox proportional hazards analysis. RESULTS: During an average follow-up period of 6.7 years (standard deviation, 2.3 years) 125 patients died of sudden cardiac death. An abnormally prolonged QTc interval (>450 ms in men, >470 ms in women) was associated with a three-fold increased risk of sudden cardiac death (hazard ratio, 2.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 4.7), after adjustment for age, gender, body mass index, hypertension, cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein ratio, diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and heart rate. In patients with an age below the median of 68 years, the corresponding relative risk was 8.0 (95% confidence interval 2.1 to 31.3). CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal QTc prolongation on the electrocardiogram should be viewed as an independent risk factor for sudden cardiac death.

Inappropriate drug prescribing in older adults: the updated 2002 Beers criteria--a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: In 1997, Beers and colleagues developed explicit criteria for potentially inappropriate drug prescribing in ambulatory older adults aged 65 years and over. Several studies have been performed to estimate the prevalence of inappropriate drug prescribing based on these criteria. In 2002, the criteria were updated. AIMS: To examine the extent and trend of inappropriate drug prescribing to ambulatory older adults in the Netherlands between 1997 and 2001, according to the 1997 and the updated Beers criteria. METHODS: Data were retrieved from the Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) project, a general practice research database with data from computer-based patient records of a group of 150 general practitioners in the Netherlands. All subjects aged 65 and over were included. Prescriptions were classified as inappropriate if they fulfilled the Beers criteria of prescriptions that generally should be avoided in older adults because of a high risk of adverse effects, while also considering dose and comorbidity. RESULTS: Between 1997 and 2001, the 1-year risk of receiving at least one inappropriate drug prescription for older adults ranged between 16.8% (95% CI: 16.3-17.3%) and 18.5% (18.3-18.7%) according to the 1997 criteria and between 19.1% (18.6-19.6%) and 20.0% (19.5-20.5%) according to the updated Beers criteria. According to the updated criteria, the most frequently prescribed inappropriate drugs were nitrofurantoin, long-acting benzodiazepines, amitriptyline, promethazine and cimetidine. Temazepam and zolpidem were mostly prescribed in supratherapeutic dose. Conventional NSAIDs in persons with a history of gastric/duodenal ulcer were the most frequently prescribed contra-indicated drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Prescribing potentially inappropriate prescriptions to ambulatory older people in the Netherlands is substantial. Compared with other studies using the 1997 Beers criteria, inappropriate prescribing to the elderly is lower than in the USA but similar to Finland. Despite a restrictive medication policy and a growing attention for medication surveillance in Europe, inappropriate drug prescribing is still a substantial problem.