Fall risk factors among poly-medicated older Lebanese patients in primary care settings: a secondary cross-sectional analysis of the "MGPIDP-L project".

BACKGROUND: Falling is a major concern for the health of older adults and significantly affects their quality of life. Identifying the various risk factors and the differences between older patients can be challenging. The objective of this study was to identify the risk factors for falls among polymedicated community-dwelling older Lebanese patients following a medication review. METHODS: In this analytical cross-sectional study, we examined the risk factors for falls in 850 patients aged ≥ 65 years who were taking ≥ 5 medications daily. The study involved conducting a medication review over the course of a year in primary care settings and using multivariate logistic regression analysis to analyze the data. RESULTS: Our results showed that 106 (19.5%) of the 850 included patients had fallen at least once in the three months prior to the medication review. Loss of appetite and functional dependence were identified as the most significant predictors of falls ORa = 3.020, CI [2.074-4.397] and ORa = 2.877, CI [1.787-4.632], respectively. Other risk factors for falls included drowsiness ORa = 2.172, CI [1.499-3.145], and the use of beta-blockers ORa = 1.943, CI [1.339-2.820]. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the importance of addressing multiple risk factors for falls among Lebanese older adults and emphasizes the need for customized interventions and ongoing monitoring to prevent falls and improve health outcomes. This study sheds light on a critical issue in the Lebanese older population and provides valuable insight into the complex nature of falls among poly-medicated Lebanese community-dwelling older adults. TRIAL REGISTRATION: 2021REC-001- INSPECT -09-04.

Regional variations in excessive polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate drug use among older adults in Sweden: Trends from 2006 to 2020.

Introduction: Potentially inappropriate drug use (PID) is common among older adults. Cross-sectional data suggest that there are marked regional variations in PID in Sweden. There is, however, a lack of knowledge about how the regional variations have changed over time. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the regional differences in the prevalence of PID in Sweden, 2006-2020. Methods: In this repeated cross-sectional study, we included all older adults (≥75 years) registered in Sweden, yearly from 2006 to 2020. We used nationwide data from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register linked at the individual level to the Swedish Total Population Register. We selected three indicators of PID according to the Swedish national "Quality indicators for good drug therapy in the elderly": 1) Excessive polypharmacy (use of ≥10 drugs); 2) Concurrent use of three or more psychotropic drugs; 3) Use of "drugs that should be avoided in older adults unless specific reasons exist." The prevalence of these indicators was calculated for each of Sweden's 21 regions, yearly from 2006 to 2020. The annual coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated for each indicator by dividing the standard deviation of the regions by the national average, to measure relative variability. Results: In the population of about 800,000 older adults per year, the national prevalence of "drugs that should be avoided in older adults," was reduced by 59% from 2006 to 2020. There was a slight decline in the use of three or more psychotropics, while the prevalence of excessive polypharmacy increased. The CV for excessive polypharmacy was 14% in 2006 and 9% in 2020 compared to 18% and 14% for "use of three or more psychotropics", and stable at around 10% for 'drugs that should be avoided in older adults.' Conclusions: The regional variation in potentially inappropriate drug use decreased or were stable from 2006 to 2020. The regional differences were largest for the use of three or more psychotropics. We found a general tendency that regions with a good performance at the start of the period performed well across the entire period. Future studies should investigate the reasons for regional variation and explore strategies to reduce unwarranted differences.

Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant use at doses inappropriately lower than recommended in outpatient older adults: a real-life data.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: There has been a rapid increase in the use of non-vitamin K-antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOAC). Current guidelines recommend dose adjustments be made in accordance with certain criteria for each NOAC. This study is aimed at determining whether or not NOAC were prescribed for non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) in guideline-recommended doses in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Older adults taking NOAC for non-valvular AF presenting to a cardiology outpatient clinic for the first time were included in the study. The NOAC dose for each patient was assessed based on the recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology and were categorized as appropriate or inappropriate (low or high dose). The patients were also evaluated for demographic data, diseases, CHA2DS2-VASc score, HASBLED score, frailty and falls in the previous year. RESULTS: A total of 302 older adults were included in the study, with a mean age of 75.5 ± 7.5 years. One hundred eighty-four patients (60.9%) were found to be on appropriate doses of NOAC, while 109 (36.1%) were on inappropriately low doses and nine (2.98%) were on inappropriately high doses. Accordingly, 39.1% of the AF patients were found to be on inappropriate doses of NOAC, 92.4% of which were inappropriately low. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the only factor associated with inappropriate low-dose NOAC use was patient age (OR = 1.061, 95% CI = 1.009-1.116, p = 0.022). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the inappropriate use of lower dose NOAC may emerge as a significant problem in outpatient older adults. This inappropriate practice seems to be associated with older age rather than the diseases, CHA2DS2-VASc/HASBLED scores, frailty and presence of falls.

Use of renal risk drugs in a nation-wide Polish older adult population: an analysis of PolSenior database.

BACKGROUND: Numerous medications should be avoided, or require dose adjustment in subjects with impaired kidney function. We aimed to assess the prevalence of potentially inappropriate use of renal risk drugs in a nation-wide, community-dwelling Polish older adult population. METHODS: We analysed regular intake of 38 medications that should be avoided, requiring dose modification, increase the risk of pre-renal kidney injury, or may cause potassium retention in subjects with moderately to severely impaired renal function in the PolSenior data base (N = 4514, mean age 76 ± 11 yrs). Kidney function was assessed with short Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula estimated glomerular filtration rate (sMDRD) and Cockcroft-Gault creatinine clearance (CC). RESULTS: There were 855 (19%) individuals with sMDRD < 60 ml/min/1.73m2, and 1734 (38%) with CC <  60 ml/min. Among drugs that should be avoided, spironolactone (20.4% of patients as classified by sMDRD and 17.5% by CC), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (13.4 and 11.3%), hydrochlorothiazide (11.1 and 11.0%), and metformin (6.9 and 8.2%) were most frequently used. The most frequently used drugs requiring dose modification were piracetam (13.9% by sMDRD, and 11.9% by CC), digoxin (8.3 and 8.8%), and gliclazide (6.8 and 5.9%). Classification of a drug use as 'appropriate' or 'inappropriate' was discordant depending on the method of kidney function assessment (sMDRD or CC) in up to 30%. Subgroups with sMDRD < 60 ml/min/1.73m2 and with CC <  60 ml/min were taking ≥2 drugs increasing the risk of pre-renal kidney injury more frequently than individuals with better kidney function (46.6 vs. 23.1 and 33.0% vs. 24.4%, respectively). There were 24.7% of individuals with sMDRD < 60 ml/min/1.73m2 and 18.0% with CC <  60 ml/min taking 2 or more drugs increasing serum potassium level. The proportion of subjects with hyperkalaemia increased with the number of such drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Use of drugs that should be avoided or require dose adjustment due to renal impairment, and potentially inappropriate drug combinations is a common problem in older adults in Poland. Assessment of kidney function with sMDRD may result in overlooking of requirements for dose adjustment formulated based on creatinine clearance. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.

Assessment of prescribing practices at the primary healthcare facilities in Botswana with an emphasis on antibiotics: Findings and implications.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Inappropriate drug prescribing has increased especially in developing countries where systems for monitoring medicine use are not well developed. This increases the rate of antimicrobial resistance. The study aim was to assess the prescribing patterns among urban primary health facilities in Botswana to provide future guidance including developing future quality indicators. METHODS: Retrospective data from patients' records between January and December 2013 in 19 clinics were collected in a cross-sectional study. The WHO/International Network for Rational Use of Drugs indicators were used to assess prescribing patterns in the study clinics. RESULTS: Average number of drugs per prescription was 2.8; 78.6% of the prescribed antibiotics were by International Non-proprietary Name and 96.1% complied with the Botswana Essential Drugs List. Overall rate of antibiotic prescribing was high (42.7%) with 14.7%, 5.9% and 1.3% of prescriptions having two, three and four antibiotics, respectively. Systemic antibiotics (JO1C) accounted for 45.4% of prescribed antibiotics of which amoxicillin accounted for 28.4% and metronidazole 14.4% of all antibiotic prescriptions. There was low use of co-amoxiclav (0.3% of all antibiotic prescriptions). Third generation cephalosporins and macrolides accounted for 9.8% and 6.2% of antibiotic prescriptions respectively, with no prescribing of fluoroquinolones. The majority of indications (87%) for antibiotic prescriptions were according to ICD classification. CONCLUSIONS: While most indications for antibiotic prescriptions were based on signs and symptoms according to ICD, antibiotic prescribing rates were high with some conditions not requiring antibiotics because they are viral infections. There is a need to further improve prescribing practices through induction and training of in-service prescribers. An effective management tool for monitoring antibiotic prescribing practices at Primary Health Care facilities should be designed and implemented, including developing robust quality indicators.

Injurious falls and subsequent adverse drug events among elderly - a Swedish population-based matched case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Fall injuries are stressful and painful and they have a range of serious consequences for older people. While there is some clinical evidence of unintentional poisoning by medication following a severe fall injuries, population-based studies on that association are lacking. This is investigated in the current study, in which attention is also paid to different clinical conditions of the injured patients. METHODS: We conducted a matched case-control study of Swedish residents 60 years and older from various Swedish population-based registers. Cases defined as adverse drug events (ADE) by unintentional poisoning leading to hospitalization or death were extracted from the National Patient Register (NPR) and the Cause of Death Register from January 2006 to December 2009 (n = 4418). To each case, four controls were matched by sex, age and residential area. Information on injurious falls leading to hospitalization six months prior to the date of hospital admission or death from ADE by unintentional poisoning, and corresponding date for the controls, was extracted from the NPR. Data on clinical conditions, such as dispensed medications, comorbidity and previous fall injuries were also extracted from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (SPDR) and NPR. Effect estimates were calculated using conditional logistic regression and presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: We found a three-fold increased risk of unintentional poisoning by medication in the six-month period after an injurious fall (OR 3.03; 95% CI, 2.54-3.74), with the most pronounced increase 1-3 weeks immediately after (OR, 7.66; 95% CI, 4.86-12.1). In that time window, from among those hospitalized for a fall (n = 92), those who sustained an unintentional poisoning (n = 60) tended to be in poorer health condition and receive more prescribed medications than those who did not, although this was not statistically significant. Age stratified analyses revealed a higher risk of poisoning among the younger (aged 60-79 years) than older elderly (80+ years). CONCLUSION: Medication-related poisoning leading to hospitalization or death can be an ADE subsequent to an episode of hospitalization for a fall-related injury. Poisoning is more likely to occur closer to the injurious event and among the younger elderly. It cannot be ruled out that some of those falls are themselves ADE and early signs of greater vulnerability among certain patients.

Cooperation between geriatricians and general practitioners for improved pharmacotherapy in home-dwelling elderly people receiving polypharmacy - the COOP Study: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Polypharmacy and inappropriate drug use is associated with negative health outcomes among older people. Various interventions for improving drug treatment have been evaluated, but the majority of studies are limited by the use of surrogate outcomes or suboptimal design. Thus, the potential for clinically significant improvements from different interventions is still unclear. The main objective of this study is therefore to evaluate the effect upon patient-relevant endpoints of a cooperation between geriatricians and general practitioners on complex drug regimens in home-dwelling elderly people. METHODS: This is a cluster randomised, single-blind, controlled trial where general practitioners are invited to participate with patients from their lists. The patients must be 70 years or older, use at least seven different medications and have their medications administered by the home nursing service. We plan to recruit 200 patients, with randomisation at physician level. The intervention consists of three main parts: (1) clinical geriatric assessment of the patient, combined with a thorough review of their medications; (2) a meeting between the geriatrician and general practitioner, where the two physicians combine their competence and knowledge and discuss the drug list systematically; (3) clinical follow-up, depending on the medication changes that have been done. The study period is 24 weeks, and the patients are assessed at baseline, 16 and 24 weeks. The primary outcome measure is health-related quality of life according to the 15D instrument. Secondary outcome measures include physical and cognitive functioning, medication appropriateness, falls, carer burden, use of health services (hospital or nursing home admissions, use of home nursing services) and mortality. DISCUSSION: Our choice of patient-relevant outcome measures will hopefully provide new knowledge on the potential for clinical improvements after performing comprehensive medication reviews in home-dwelling elderly people receiving polypharmacy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02379455 . Registered on 27 February 2015.

Nurses' and pharmacists' learning experiences from participating in interprofessional medication reviews for elderly in primary health care - a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Traditionally, drug prescription and follow up have been the sole responsibility of physicians. However, interprofessional medication reviews (IMRs) have been developed to prevent drug discrepancies and patient harm especially for elderly patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity. What participating nurses and pharmacists learn from each other during IMR is poorly studied. The aim of this study was to investigate nurses' and pharmacists' perceived learning experience after participating in IMRs in primary health care for up to two years. METHODS: A qualitative study with semi-structured focus group interviews and telephone interviews with nurses and pharmacists with experience from IMRs in nursing homes and home based services. The data was analysed thematically by using systematic text condensation. RESULTS: Thirteen nurses and four pharmacists were interviewed. They described some challenges concerning how to ensure participation of all three professions and how to get thorough information about the patient. As expected, both professions talked of an increased awareness with time of the benefit of working as a team and the perception of contributing to better and more individual care. The nurses' perception of the pharmacist changed from being a controller of drug management routines towards being a source of pharmacotherapy knowledge and a discussant partner of appropriate drug therapy in the elderly. The pharmacists became more aware of the nurses' crucial role of providing clinical information about the patient to enable individual advice. Increasingly the nurses learned to link the patient's symptoms of effect and side effect to the drugs prescribed. CONCLUSIONS: Although experiencing challenges in conducting IMRs, the nurses and pharmacists had learning experiences they said improved both their own practice and the quality of drug management. There are some challenges concerning how to ensure participation of all three professions and how to get thorough information about the patient.

Decrease in use of contraindicated drugs with automated alerts in children.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated changes in the use of contraindicated drugs in the pediatric population, via automated alerts through the nationwide drug utilization review. METHODS: We conducted an interrupted time series analysis using the nationwide health insurance database. Study drugs consisted of a total of 72 drugs in 22 classes that were designated as age contraindicated between January 2007 and December 2011. The subjects consisted of the patients in Korea who had been prescribed with any of the study drugs at least once. Changes in the use of age-contraindicated drugs after the regulatory action were estimated as relative and absolute reductions with 95% CI. Regression analysis was carried out based on the monthly number of users prior to the announcement of age-contraindicated drugs on 3 December 2009 to estimate the predicted values, and these were then compared with the observed values after the announcement. RESULTS: A total of 2 541 888 patients were prescribed age-contraindicated drugs at least once. The percentage of age-contraindicated drug users was 2.10% of the total users (n = 3 309 566) during the period prior to the 2009 regulatory action, but it decreased to 0.30% (n = 542 529) after the action. Overall, there was an 85.71% relative reduction (95% CI: 71.53-102.72) in the percentage of age-contraindicated drug users. The projected monthly number of users of age-contraindicated drugs showed a gradual downward trend. CONCLUSION: Decreases in contraindicated drugs have accelerated after a regulatory action with automated alerts.

Drug-related problems associated with self-medication and medication guided by prescription: A pharmacy-based survey.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to identify and compare the nature of the drug-related problems (DRPs) associated with self-medication and non-self-medication (drug use guided by a prescription). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cross-sectional, observational study was conducted on 1100 adult participants at a convenience sample of six retail private pharmacy counters. The data collection form was based on the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe version 6.2 classification for DRPs. Descriptive statistics was used to represent the prevalence of DRPs. Chi-square test was used to find out the association between the type of medication and DRPs. Odds ratio (OR) with confidence interval (CI) was computed to find the factors determining the occurrence of DRPs. P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. RESULTS: The prevalence of self-medication was 18.72%. The prevalence of DRPs was 17.36%. In the self-medication group, the prevalence of DRPs was high (40.78%) as compared to the non-self-medication group (11.97%). DRP related to inappropriate drug dosing was observed in 44.83% and 40.45% subjects in self-medication and non-self-medication group, respectively (P < 0.001). The subjects in the self-medication group were about 5 times likely to have a DRP (OR: 5.06, CI: 3.59-7.14, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Self-medication is associated with a higher risk of various DRPs. Since retail pharmacy outlet is often the first point of contact between the patient and the health care system in a developing country, interventions like drug information activities at the retail pharmacy is likely to bring down the DRPs associated with self-medication.

Trends in prescription of pregnancy-contraindicated drugs in Korea, 2007-2011.

This study aims to evaluate changes in use of contraindicated drugs during pregnancy in Korea using the nationwide Health Insurance and Assessment Service (HIRA) database. Study drugs were 314 drugs that were announced as pregnancy-contraindicated on December 11, 2008. The study population consisted of the pregnant women who gave birth and were prescribed any of the drugs in 2007-2011 before giving birth. Pregnancy-contraindicated drug use was defined as the proportion of prescriptions among pregnant women that were for study drugs. The relative and absolute reductions in contraindicated drug use after the 2008 action were estimated with 95% confidence interval (CI) by medical institution type, region, and drug class. The predicted monthly contraindicated drug use was estimated by performing ordinary least-squares regression analysis of data before the action and compared with observed data after the action. Between 2007 and 2011, a total of 1,468,588 pregnant women received 1,796,208 prescriptions. Contraindicated drug use accounted for 15.96% of total prescriptions (N = 355,783) before the action but decreased to 11.52% (N = 453,832) afterward. Overall, the relative reduction was 27.77% (95% CI: 27.64%-27.90%) and greatest for hormones at 46.56% (95% CI: 46.21%-46.93%). The relative reduction was 55.43% (95% CI: 54.60%-55.43%) for all category X drugs, 17.09% (95% CI: 16.46%-17.75%) for category X drugs excluding hormones, and 0.14% (95% CI: 0.14%-0.15%) for category D drugs including hormones. A regulatory action toward pregnancy-contraindicated drugs led to moderate decrease in contraindicated drug use during pregnancy. Despite the decreases, contraindicated drugs were still widely prescribed to pregnant women, highlighting the need to develop strategies to assess and improve drug safety during pregnancy.

Inappropriate drug use in elderly patients is associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased postoperative mortality after colorectal cancer surgery: a population-based study.

AIM: The study aimed to investigate whether continuing potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) is associated with length of hospital stay (LOS) and postoperative mortality in elderly people undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. METHOD: The Swedish National Colorectal Cancer Register and the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register provided matched data on 7279 patients aged 75 years or more who had undergone bowel resection for colorectal cancer between 2007 and 2010. Patients were divided into two groups depending on whether or not they were taking PIM at the time of surgery. The primary efficacy variables were the LOS and 30-day postoperative mortality. RESULTS: Of the 7279 patients, 22.5% (1641) of the patients were exposed to at least one PIM and the total number of drugs taken in this group was six, compared with three in the non-PIM group (P < 0.001). Postoperative mortality was higher in the PIM group (7.1% vs 4.5%, P < 0.001), and LOS was longer (10 days vs 9, P = 0.001). When adjusted for independent predictors, the differences in LOS (odds ratio 1.14; 95% confidence interval 1.00-1.29, P = 0.046) and postoperative mortality (odds ratio 1.43; 95% confidence interval 1.11-1.85, P = 0.006) remained significant. CONCLUSION: The use of PIM prior to surgery is associated with increased postoperative mortality and prolonged hospital stay. Although no causal relationship is proved, the results add a further aspect to preoperative optimization of elderly patients about to have major colorectal surgery.

Dissemination of Evidence-Based Antipsychotic Prescribing Guidelines to Nursing Homes: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to translate and disseminate evidence-based guidelines about atypical antipsychotic use to nursing homes (NHs). DESIGN: Three-arm, cluster randomized trial. SETTING: NHs. PARTICIPANTS: NHs in the state of Connecticut. MEASUREMENTS: Evidence-based guidelines for atypical antipsychotic prescribing were translated into a toolkit targeting NH stakeholders, and 42 NHs were recruited and randomized to one of three toolkit dissemination strategies: mailed toolkit delivery (minimal intensity); mailed toolkit delivery with quarterly audit and feedback reports about facility-level antipsychotic prescribing (moderate intensity); and in-person toolkit delivery with academic detailing, on-site behavioral management training, and quarterly audit and feedback reports (high intensity). Outcomes were evaluated using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. RESULTS: Toolkit awareness of 30% (7/23) of leadership of low-intensity NHs, 54% (19/35) of moderate-intensity NHs, and 82% (18/22) of high-intensity NHs reflected adoption and implementation of the intervention. Highest levels of use and knowledge among direct care staff were reported in high-intensity NHs. Antipsychotic prescribing levels declined during the study period, but there were no statistically significant differences between study arms or from secular trends. CONCLUSION: RE-AIM indicators suggest some success in disseminating the toolkit and differences in reach, adoption, and implementation according to dissemination strategy but no measurable effect on antipsychotic prescribing trends. Further dissemination to external stakeholders such as psychiatry consultants and hospitals may be needed to influence antipsychotic prescribing for NH residents.

Potentially inappropriate drug use in older people: a nationwide comparison of different explicit criteria for population-based estimates.

AIMS: The aim was to investigate the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use among older people in Sweden according to five different published sets of explicit criteria from Europe and the US. METHODS: This was a nationwide cross-sectional, register-based study across the whole of Sweden in 2008. All individuals aged 65 years and older were included (n = 1 346 709, both community-dwelling and institutionalized persons). We applied all drug-specific criteria included in the 2012 Beers Criteria, the Laroche's list, the PRISCUS list, the NORGEP criteria and the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare criteria. The main outcome was the potentially inappropriate drug use according to each set of criteria, separately and combined. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify individual factors associated with the use of potentially inappropriate drugs. RESULTS: The prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use varied between the explicit criteria from 16% (NORGEP criteria) to 24% (2012 Beers criteria). Overall, 38% of the older people were exposed to potentially inappropriate drug use by at least one of the five sets of criteria. While controlling for other possible covariates, female gender, institutionalization and polypharmacy were systematically associated with inappropriate drug use, regardless of the set of explicit criteria we considered. CONCLUSION: Although explicit criteria for inappropriate drug use among older people have been reported to be quite different in their content, they provide similar measures of the prevalence of potentially inappropriate drug use at the population level.

Potentially inappropriate drug use among hospitalised older adults: results from the CRIME study.

BACKGROUND: Beers criteria and screening tool of older person's prescriptions (STOPP) criteria are widely used to assess potentially inappropriate drug use (PIDU). OBJECTIVE: the aims of the present study are (i) to assess the prevalence of PIDU based on 2012 Beers criteria and STOPP criteria and (ii) to determine the impact of PIDU, as defined by these criteria, on health outcomes among older in-hospital patients. DESIGN: prospective observational study. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: a total of 871 in-hospital patients participating to the CRIteria to Assess Appropriate Medication Use among Elderly Complex Patients project. METHODS: outcome measures were (i) adverse drug reactions (ADR); (ii) decline in functional status; (iii) combined outcome (ADR or declined in functional status). RESULTS: the prevalence of PIDU was 58.4% applying Beers criteria, 50.4% applying STOPP criteria and 75.0% combining both sets of criteria. PIDU defined based on STOPP criteria was significantly associated with ADR [odds ratio (OR) 2.36; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-5.06], and decline in physical function (OR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.10-3.64), while, despite a positive trend, no significant association was observed for Beers criteria or the combination of both criteria. The combined outcome was significantly associated with PIDU defined based on Beers (OR: 1.74; 95% CI: 1.06-2.85), STOPP criteria (OR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.32-3.47) or both (OR 2.02; 95% CI: 1.06-3.84). CONCLUSIONS: PIDU is common in hospitalised older adults and the combination of Beers and STOPP criteria might lead to the identification of a larger number of cases of PIDU than the application of a single set of criteria. STOPP criteria significantly predict all in-hospital outcomes considered, while Beers criteria were significantly associated with the combined outcome only.