Perioperative pain management intervention in older patients with hip fracture in an orthogeriatric unit. A controlled before/after study assessing an audit and feedback intervention (PAIN-AGE).

BACKGROUND: Postoperative pain delays ambulation, extends hospital stay, reduces the probability of recovery, and increases risk of long-term functional impairment. Pain management in hip fractured patients poses a challenge to the healthcare teams. Older adults are more vulnerable to opioid-associated side effect and it is primordial to minimize their exposure to opioids. Acetaminophen is associated with reduced opioid use so we need to focus on acetaminophen use in first-line analgesia. METHODS: We conducted a controlled before/after study to assess the ability of an audit and feedback (A&F) intervention built with nurses to improve the quality of perioperative pain management in older patients hospitalized for hip fracture in an orthogeriatric unit (experimental group) versus a conventional orthopedic unit (no A&F intervention). The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients who received 3 g/day of acetaminophen during the three postoperative days, before and after the A&F intervention. Secondary endpoints included nurses' adherence to medical prescriptions, clinical data associated with patients and finally factors associated with intervention. The significative level was set at 0.05 for statistical analysis. RESULTS: We studied data from 397 patients (mean age 89 years, 75% female). During the postoperative period, 16% of patients from the experimental group received 3 g/day of acetaminophen before the A&F intervention; the percentage reached 60% after the intervention. The likelihood of receiving 3 g/day of acetaminophen during the postoperative period and adhering to the medical prescription of acetaminophen were significantly increased in the experimental group as compared with the control group. The patient's functional status at discharge (assessed by Activities of Daily Living scores) was significantly better and the length of hospital stay significantly reduced after the A&F intervention. CONCLUSION: Our controlled before/after study showed that an A&F intervention significantly improved perioperative pain management in older adults hospitalized for hip fracture. Involving teams in continuous education programs appears crucial to improve the quality of pain management and ensure nurses' adherence to medical prescriptions.

Clinical pharmacy as a guarantee of safety in times of crisis: evolution and relevance of the continued presence of clinical pharmacists in frontline medical units during the first wave of COVID-19.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the organisation of health services worldwide. In the first wave, many therapeutic options were explored, exposing patients to significant iatrogenic risk. In a context in which patient management was not well defined by clear recommendations and in which healthcare professionals were under great stress, was it still relevant to maintain pharmaceutical care or did it bring an additional factor of disorganisation? OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to compare the relevance of pharmaceutical care practices before and during the COVID-19 crisis. METHODS: A retrospective, comparative, observational analysis was conducted in two medical units in a French university hospital that were receiving patients with COVID-19 and benefiting from pharmaceutical care prior to the crisis. This study compared clinical pharmacy performance between two 1.5-month periods before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Performance was assessed according to the CLEO scale, rating the clinical, economic and organisational impacts of the accepted pharmaceutical interventions (PIs) performed in these units. RESULTS: Of the 675 accepted PIs carried out in the two medical units over the entire study period, PIs performed during the COVID-19 period had a greater significant clinical impact (72% vs 56%, p˂0.0001), a more positive economic impact (38% vs 23%, p˂0.0001) and a more favourable organisational impact (52% vs 20%, p˂0.0001) than those performed prior to the COVID-19 period. CONCLUSIONS: The health crisis generated important changes in care practices. Our study demonstrates the sustained relevance of pharmaceutical care during a health crisis. This local experience confirms the major interest in improving the integration of pharmaceutical expertise within French healthcare teams.

[Evaluation of the organisational and clinical impacts of supply chain problems in a university hospital]. / Évaluation des impacts organisationnels et cliniques des ruptures de médicaments au sein d'un centre hospitalier universitaire.

Drug supply problems are a real public health concern. Despite the implementation of legal measures, this problem is still relevant, with potential clinical, organizational and financial consequences in hospitals. The objective is to evaluate the organizational and clinical impact of supply problems in a hospital. A retrospective study of the supply problems encountered in our institution made it possible to classify them according to different criteria using an algorithm. A mapping of the organizational impact of the resolution of each supply problem according to the internal organization of the medication circuit was developed. The potential clinical impact of each problem identified was assessed using a 4-level scale. Over an 18-month period, 332 supply problems were recorded, 78 % of which were classified as a stock-outs. Over the entire study, 2415 organizational impact points were identified, with 2019 impacts for the pharmacy department and 396 impacts for the healthcare departments. Approximately 90 % of the drugs with a supply problem were drugs of major therapeutic interest. In 49 % of the situations, they have a lesser clinical impact as soon as shortage management is put in place. The characterization of the different management methods has made it possible to systematically identify and predict the impact on the entire medication circuit. The impact on the patient is thus limited if the management of the supply problem is well anticipated by the pharmacist. The pharmacist plays an important role in managing supply problems, but also in providing support to the care services.

Tolerance of Fentanyl Pectin Nasal Spray for Procedural Pain in Geriatric Patients.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess the tolerance of fentanyl pectin nasal spray (FPNS) when used to treat procedural pain caused by wound dressing or physiotherapy in patients older than 75 years with or without opioid background treatment. DESIGN: This is a prospective monocentric, noncontrolled, nonrandomized study conducted from December 2014 to October 2017 in 2 geriatric wards (rehabilitation and acute medicine). SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-seven patients were included and 314 procedures were monitored. METHODS: For each patient, 6 procedures were monitored: the first 2 without specific treatment, then fentanyl was started at 100 µg with a titration over a few procedures up to 800 µg in non-opioid-naïve patients and 400 µg in opioid-naïve. Sedation and respiratory scale were monitored during the procedures. All adverse drug events occurring from inclusion to 5 days after the intervention were collected and their imputability was assessed separately by 2 pharmacovigilance experts. RESULTS: Overall, 14.4% of the sessions with FPNS administration resulted in adverse drug events. Main adverse drug events were nausea and vomiting, somnolence, and confusion. Most of them were of mild to moderate severity. Four severe adverse events were due to accidental overdoses. No unexpected adverse event occurred. Tolerance was similar for opioid-naïve and non-opioid-naïve patients (P value = .93). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: FPNS was overall well tolerated in geriatric patients. Given its interesting pharmacokinetics, fentanyl is a promising lead for procedural pain treatment in geriatric patients, even those who are opioid naïve.

Optimizing medication use in elderly people in primary care: Impact of STOPP criteria on inappropriate prescriptions.

BACKGROUND: STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions) criteria have been used in acute care and nursing home settings as a screening tool to assess Potentially Inappropriate Medication (PIM) for elderly people. Furthermore, this tool could help General Practitioners (GPs) to lower PIM frequency in primary care. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to measure the impact of STOPP criteria applied by the GP on prescriptions during a primary care consultation. SETTING, SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Twenty GPs were involved and trained to use STOPP criteria. GPs were asked to use STOPP criteria for elderly patients (>75years old) who were taking at least five different drugs, seen over a two-month period. The rate of PIM according to STOPP criteria was measured before and after training. Prescription quality was compared using the Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI) score. RESULTS: Overall, 172 prescriptions were analyzed. A total of 170 PIM were identified according to STOPP criteria before the intervention. Fifty-seven percent of the population (n=98 patients) had at least one PIM. GP's intervention decreased the number of PIM according to STOPP criteria to 106 and was beneficial for 44.9% of the patients (n=44). The mean MAI score of all medications and PIM decreased by 14.3% (p<0.001) and 39.1% (p<0.001) respectively. DISCUSSION CONCLUSIONS: Application of STOPP criteria by GPs is an effective tool to decrease PIM and MAI score in primary care. The generalization of the use of STOPP criteria during GP consultation should be fostered.