Impact of Hospitalization in an Endocrinology Department on Vaccination Coverage in People Living with Diabetes: A Real-Life Study.

Background and Objectives: Vaccination coverage is suboptimal in people living with diabetes. The objectives of this study were to determine the impact of hospitalization on vaccination coverage and the variables associated with vaccination during hospital stay. Materials and Methods: This observational study was conducted from May 2019 to December 2019 in the Endocrinology-Nutrition-Diabetes Department of the University Hospital of Montpellier, France. This department encompasses three medical units, two of which have a full-time clinical pharmacist involved in the multidisciplinary management of patients. All adult diabetic patients who completed a questionnaire about vaccines were prospectively included by a clinical pharmacist and followed until department discharge. Coverage at the time of admission for the tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap), pneumococcal, influenza, and herpes zoster vaccines was assessed from patient interviews and/or contact with the general practitioner and/or with the community pharmacist. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the factors associated with a vaccination update during the hospital stay. Results: A total of 222 patients were included (mean age: 59.4 years, 68.5% type 2 diabetes). Vaccination coverage increased by 26.7% (47.3% to 59.9%), 188.0% (10.8% to 31.1%) and 8.9% (45.9% to 50.0%), respectively, for the Tdap, pneumococcal and influenza vaccines during hospital stay. Female sex, admission to a diabetes care unit with a full-time pharmacist, favorable feelings about vaccination, unknown immunization coverage for pneumococcal vaccines, and evaluation and recording of vaccine coverage at admission in the patient medical records were associated with at least one vaccination during hospital stay. Conclusions: Our real-life study highlights that hospitalization and multidisciplinary management (i.e., physician-pharmacist) may be key points in the diabetes care pathway to improve vaccination coverage, especially for patients with advanced diabetes and comorbidities.

Potentially Inappropriate Drug Prescribing in French Nursing Home Residents: An Observational Study.

Purpose: To identify the prevalence of potentially inappropriate drug prescription in a sample of nursing home residents in France, combining explicit criteria and implicit approach and to involve pharmacists in the multi-professional process of therapeutic optimization. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, multicenter study was conducted during a five-month period in a sample of French nursing homes. Information on drug prescription, diseases, and socio-demographic characteristics of nursing home residents was collected. For each prescription, identification of potentially inappropriate drug prescription was done, based on explicit and implicit criteria. Results: Nursing home residents were administered an average of 8.1 (SD 3.2, range 0-20) drugs per day. Nearly 87% (n = 237) of the residents had polypharmacy with five or more drugs prescribed per day. Among the 274 nursing home residents recruited from five nursing homes, 212 (77.4%) had at least one potentially inappropriate drug prescription. According to the Laroche list, 84 residents (30.7%) had at least one drug with an unfavorable benefit-harm balance. An overdosing was found for 20.1% (n = 55) of the residents. Nearly 30% (n = 82) of the residents had a drug prescribed without valid medical indication. Conclusions: This study shows that potentially inappropriate drug prescriptions are highly prevalent among nursing home residents, nevertheless pharmacists can take part in drug utilization review in collaboration with the nursing home staff.

Lessons from "real life experience" of rifaximin use in the management of recurrent hepatic encephalopathy.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a major complication of cirrhosis with independent prognostic significance. The current management of HE is mainly based on lactulose. Rifaximin has been shown to decrease the risk of HE recurrence in patients with episodic forms. HE can also be persistent. However, there is no drug support recommendation for rifaximin use in this setting. AIM: To assess the effectiveness of rifaximin in the management of recurrent episodes of HE and recurrent acute exacerbations on persistent HE, in "real life conditions". METHODS: In this retrospective study, using a within-subjects design, we collected data of patients treated with rifaximin for HE in two liver diseases centers, during the six-month period before and during the six-month period after the initiation of rifaximin. The primary effectiveness endpoint was the total number of HE events involving hospitalization. RESULTS: Rifaximin was introduced for prevention of recurrent HE episodes in 29 out of 62 patients with normal mental status between episodes and for prevention of recurrent acute exacerbations on persistent HE in 33 out of 62 patients. In the "prevention of recurrent HE episodes" group, fewer HE events (0.79 vs 1.78; P = 0.013) were reported during the period of time when rifaximin was used. In the "prevention of recurrent acute exacerbations on persistent HE" group, there was no significant difference in the number of HE-events (1.48 vs 1.77; P = 0.582). CONCLUSION: In this real-life experience, the effectiveness of rifaximin was confirmed in the prevention of HE episodes recurrence but was not proved in the prevention of acute exacerbations recurrence on persistent HE.

Cost analysis of potentially inappropriate medication in older hospitalized patients.

Objectives: Pubmed literature search show that the prescription of potentially inappropriate medications is a major concern in older hospitalized patients, both from a clinical and financial perspective. This study aims to identify factors associated with exposure and potentially inappropriate medication costs in older hospitalized patients and to assess the financial impact of substituting these medications with safer alternatives. Methods: We performed an observational cross-sectional study of all patients aged 75 years or older hospitalized in a university hospital (except geriatric wards) on a given day. Potentially inappropriate medications were identified using European and French guidelines. Results: A total of 365 patients were included. At least one potentially inappropriate medication was prescribed in 50.4% of these patients. This contributed 19.7% [16.1; 23.6] to the average cost of medication per patient. Substitution of these medications with recommended alternatives was cost saving: average incremental cost per patient: -3.97 € [-7.21; -1.58]. Both polypharmacy and type of ward providing care were associated with increased costs of potentially inappropriate medications. Conclusions: This study assessed the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications in older hospitalized patients and established that their substitution by alternative medications provided a cost saving.

Blood pressure and cognitive performances in middle-aged adults: the Aging, Health and Work longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to investigate the impact of both prevalent and incident hypertension on cognition in middle-aged individuals followed up for 10 years and to explore the extent to which blood pressure control by antihypertensive drugs could modify this relationship. METHOD: Three thousand, two hundred and one participants from the Vieillissement Santé Travail (Aging, Health and Work) (VISAT) cohort study, aged 32, 42, 52 and 62 years at baseline were followed up 5 and 10 years later. Blood pressure, antihypertensive medication use as well as memory and speed cognitive performances were assessed at baseline and follow-up. Linear mixed models were used for analyses. RESULTS: At 10-year follow-up, compared with nonhypertensive participants, prevalent hypertensive individuals showed poorer global cognitive performances (ß = -2.99 ±â€Š0.96, P = 0.002 for participants aged 32 or 42 years at baseline and ß = -5.94 ±â€Š1.00, P < 0.001 for those aged 52 or 62). Patients with incident hypertension had poorer global cognitive performances over time compared with patients without hypertension. When considering prevalent hypertension and blood pressure control status by antihypertensive therapy, untreated and uncontrolled hypertension were associated with poorer cognitive performances than controlled and no hypertension (untreated hypertension compared with no hypertension: ß = -5.51 ±â€Š0.75, P < 0.001; uncontrolled hypertension compared with no hypertension: ß = -6.13 ±â€Š1.40, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that both prevalent and incident hypertension are associated with poorer global cognitive function in middle-aged individuals and suggested a potential preventive effect of antihypertensive therapy on cognition. Thus, for brain functioning, heightened efforts to detect hypertension and adequately treat it are of critical importance.

Reducing potentially inappropriate drug prescribing in nursing home residents: effectiveness of a geriatric intervention.

AIMS: Potentially inappropriate drug prescribing (PIDP) is frequent in nursing home (NH) residents. We aimed to investigate whether a geriatric intervention on quality of care reduced PIDP. METHODS: We performed an ancillary study within a multicentric individually-tailored controlled trial (IQUARE trial). All NH received a baseline and 18-month audit regarding drug prescriptions and other quality of care indicators. After the initial audit, NHs of the intervention group benefited of an in-site intervention (geriatric education for NH staff) provided by a geriatrician from the closest hospital. The analysis included 629 residents of 159 NHs. The main outcome was PIDP, defined as the presence of at least one of the following criteria: (i) drug with an unfavourable benefit-to-risk ratio; (ii) with questionable efficacy; (iii) absolute contraindication; (iv) significant drug-drug interaction. Multivariable multilevel logistic regression models were performed including residents and NH factors as confounders. RESULTS: PIDP was 65.2% (-3.6% from baseline) in the intervention group (n = 339) and 69.9% (-2.3%) in the control group (n = 290). The intervention significantly decreased PIDP [odds ratio (OR) = 0.63; 95% confidence interval 0.40-0.99], as a special care unit in NH (OR = 0.60; (0.42 to 0.85)), and a fall in the last 12 months (OR = 0.63; 0.44-0.90). Charlson Comorbidity Index [ORCCI = 1 vs. 0  = 1.38; 0.87-2.19, ORCCI ≥ 2 vs. 0  = 2.01; (1.31-3.08)] and psychiatric advice and/or hospitalization in a psychiatric unit (OR = 1.53; 1.07-2.18) increased the likelihood of PIDP. CONCLUSION: This intervention based on a global geriatric education resulted in a significant reduction of PIDP at patient level.

Mortality and Antipsychotic Drug Use in Elderly Patients With Parkinson Disease in Nursing Homes.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate mortality rate in elderly and very elderly (≥85 years) residents with Parkinson disease (PD) in nursing homes (NHs) with and without antipsychotic drugs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: All residents with PD from the 6275 NH residents participating in the Impact d'une démarche QUAlité sur l'évolution des pratiques et le déclin fonctionnel des Résidents en Etablissement d'hébergement pour personnes âgées dépendantes (IQUARE) study. SETTING: A total of 175 NHs in Midi-Pyrénées region, South-Western France. EXPOSURE: Patients with PD taking antipsychotic drugs. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: All-cause mortality between baseline and 18 months. STATISTICAL METHODS: Logistic regression was used to explore baseline characteristics associated with mortality rate and with antipsychotic use at 18 months. RESULTS: At baseline, among 452 residents with PD, 72 (15.9%) received at least 1 antipsychotic drug. Mortality rates at 18 months in residents with PD with and without antipsychotic use were similar (34.3% and 38.2%, respectively, P = .58). Among factors associated with mortality, a statistically significant increase in mortality rate was found in very old residents (≥85 years of age) [odds ratio (OR) 2.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-3.1] or in those with chronic pulmonary disease (OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.5-8.5). Among residents ≥85 years of age, we also found a statistically significant increase in mortality rate in individuals with arterial hypertension (OR 2.8; 95% CI 1.3-5.8). Moreover, a statistically significant increase in prescription of antipsychotic drugs was found in residents who tried to elope (OR 3.8; 95% CI 1.4-10.7) and in those with severe psychiatric diseases (excluding depression) (OR 7.5; 95% CI 4.1-13.6). CONCLUSIONS: In this study investigating factors associated with mortality in old and very old residents with PD in NHs, no significant association was observed with the use of antipsychotics. However, our study suggests that age (≥85 years) or chronic pulmonary disease could be associated with mortality among patients with PD, as well as arterial hypertension in very old patients (≥85 years of age).

Potentially inappropriate prescribing in a population of frail elderly people.

Background Frailty is a clinical syndrome highly predictive of functional decline after a stress or a medical event, such as adverse drug events. Objective To describe the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing in a population of frail elderly patients. Setting Geriatric day hospital for assessment of frailty and prevention of disability, Toulouse, France. Method A cross-sectional study performed from January to April 2014. Two pharmacists retrospectively analyzed the prescriptions of elderly patients who were sent to the day hospital to assess their frailty and to be given a personalized plan of care and prevention. Potentially inappropriate prescribing was defined by combining explicit criteria: Laroche list, screening tool of older people's prescriptions, and screening tool to alert to right treatment with an implicit method (drug utilization review for each medication). Prescriptions' optimizations were then suggested to the geriatricians of the day hospital and classified according to criteria defined by the French Society of Clinical Pharmacy. Main outcome measure Prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing. Results Among the 229 patients included, 71.2% had potentially inappropriate prescribing. 76 patients (33.2%) had at least one drug without any valid indication. 51 (22.3%) had at least one drug with an unfavorable benefit-to-risk ratio according to their clinical and biological data, 42 (18.3%) according to the Laroche list and 38 (16.6%) had at least one drug with questionable efficacy. Conclusion Our work shows that the incidence of PIP is high in the frail elderly and that, in most cases, it could be avoided with an adequate and regular reassessment of the prescriptions. In future, prescription optimization will be integrated into the personalized medical care plan to further prevent drug-related disability.

Effectiveness of a Standardized and Specific Follow-Up in Memory Centers in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the 4-year survival, institutionalization, cognitive and functional decline of Alzheimer's patients with specific follow-up in memory centers versus usual care. DESIGN: Four year longitudinal follow-up. SETTINGS: The French Network of memory centers in Alzheimer's disease (REAL-FR study) and The French population-based study (3C study). PARTICIPANTS: 728 patients aged ≥ 65, living at home, meeting criteria for probable Alzheimer's disease and having Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores between 10 and 26 at baseline were included. MEASUREMENTS: Cox proportional hazards models were performed to test the effectiveness of a specific follow-up in memory centers (REAL-FR study) versus usual care (3C study) on the 4-year survival and institutionalization. Linear mixed models were used to assess cognitive and functional decline in both groups. RESULTS: After adjustment for confounding factors, the 4-year survival did not differ significantly between patients followed-up in memory centers and those who had recourse to usual care (usual care: Hazard Ratio adjusted (HRa) = 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53-1.43, p=0.59). Patients with a specific follow-up in memory centers had a higher risk of being institutionalized (usual care: HRa = 0.24, 95% CI 0.12-0.48, p<0.001). They also exhibited a significant greater cognitive and functional decline over time. CONCLUSION: Our findings failed to demonstrate any potential benefits of a specific follow-up in memory centers on clinically meaningful outcomes in the natural history of Alzheimer's disease. Recourse to care in memory centers may have been the consequence of a faster dementia progression and a greater burden of Alzheimer's disease, all leading to detrimental consequences on various prognostic outcomes.

Antihypertensive drugs, prevention of cognitive decline and dementia: a systematic review of observational studies, randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses, with discussion of potential mechanisms.

BACKGROUND: Chronic hypertension, particularly midlife high blood pressure, has been associated with an increased risk for cognitive decline and dementia. In this context, antihypertensive drugs might have a preventive effect, but the association remains poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic review was to examine all published findings that investigated this relationship and discuss the mechanisms underlying the potential benefits of antihypertensive medication use. METHODS: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for publications from 1990 onwards mentioning hypertension, antihypertensive drugs, cognitive decline, and dementia. RESULTS: A total of 38 relevant publications, corresponding to 18 longitudinal studies, 11 randomized controlled trials, and nine meta-analyses were identified from the 10,251 articles retrieved in the literature search. In total, 1,346,176 subjects were included in these studies; the average age was 74 years. In the seven longitudinal studies assessing the effect of antihypertensive medication on cognitive impairment or cognitive decline, antihypertensive drugs appeared to be beneficial. Of the 11 longitudinal studies that assessed the effect of antihypertensive medication on incidence of dementia, only three did not find a significant protective effect. Antihypertensive medication could decrease the risk of not only vascular dementia but also Alzheimer's disease. Four randomized controlled trials showed a potentially preventive effect of antihypertensive drugs on the incidence of dementia or cognitive decline: SYST-EUR (Systolic Hypertension in Europe Study) I and II, with a 55% reduction in dementia risk (3.3 vs. 7.4 cases per 1,000 patient years; p<0.001); HOPE (Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation), with a 41% reduction in cognitive decline associated with stroke (95% confidence interval [CI] 6-63); and PROGRESS (Perindopril Protection against Recurrent Stroke Study), with a 19% reduction in cognitive decline (95% CI 4-32; p=0.01). Meta-analyses have sometimes produced conflicting results, but this may be due to methodological considerations. The lack of homogeneity across study designs, patient populations, exposition, outcomes, and duration of follow-up are the most important methodological limitations that might explain the discrepancies between some of these studies. CONCLUSION: Antihypertensive drugs, particularly calcium channel blockers and renin-angiotensin system blockers, may be beneficial in preventing cognitive decline and dementia. However, further randomized controlled trials with longer periods of follow-up and cognition as the primary outcome are needed to confirm these findings.

Potentially inappropriate drug prescribing and associated factors in nursing homes.

IMPORTANCE: Polymedication is frequent in nursing home (NH) residents. This increases the risk of potentially inappropriate drug prescribing (PIDP), which can lead to adverse drug events, such as falls and hospitalization. OBJECTIVE: To identify PIDP in NH residents and to investigate subject-related and NH structural and organizational factors associated with PIDP. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: A total of 175 NHs in Midi-Pyrénées region, South-Western France. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 974 subjects randomly selected from the 6275 NH residents participating in the IQUARE study. EXPOSURE: Patients with PIDP. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: PIDP was the main outcome measure. It was defined using a specific indicator, based on the Summary of Product Characteristics, on the Laroche list, and on residents' clinical data. PIDP was defined as the presence of at least 1 of the following criteria: (1) drug with an unfavorable benefit-to-risk ratio; (2) drug with questionable efficacy according to the Laroche list; (3) absolute contraindication; (4) significant drug-drug interaction. Associated factors were identified by using multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS: Among the 974 residents included, 71% had PIDP. PIDP was more frequent in patients without dementia, with several comorbidities and taking multiple medications. In the multivariable analysis, age (odds ratio [OR] 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.03) and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI; P = .003, CCI = 1 versus 0: OR1/0 1.22; 95% CI 0.85-1.74, CCI ≥ 2 versus 0: OR2/0 1.72; 95% CI 1.23-2.41) were associated with an increased likelihood of PIDP. By contrast, dementia was associated with a lower likelihood of PIDP (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.53-0.94). Among NH structural and organizational characteristics, the access to psychiatric advice and/or to hospitalization in a psychiatric unit (OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.02-1.82) and the presence of a reevaluation of drug prescriptions (OR 1.45; 95% CI 1.07-1.96) were associated with an increased likelihood of PIDP. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Our work suggests that some NH characteristics are associated with an increased likelihood of PIDP. Gaining a better understanding of the factors influencing PIDP, especially structural and organizational NH factors, can help to determine the interventions that should be implemented.