Sex Differences in Multimorbidity, Inappropriate Medication and Adverse Outcomes of Inpatient Care: MoPIM Cohort Study.

There is no published evidence on the possible differences in multimorbidity, inappropriate prescribing, and adverse outcomes of care, simultaneously, from a sex perspective in older patients. We aimed to identify those possible differences in patients hospitalized because of a chronic disease exacerbation. A multicenter, prospective cohort study of 740 older hospitalized patients (≥65 years) was designed, registering sociodemographic variables, frailty, Barthel index, chronic conditions (CCs), geriatric syndromes (GSs), polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) according to STOPP/START criteria, and adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Outcomes were length of stay (LOS), discharge to nursing home, in-hospital mortality, cause of mortality, and existence of any ADR and its worst consequence. Bivariate analyses between sex and all variables were performed, and a network graph was created for each sex using CC and GS. A total of 740 patients were included (53.2% females, 53.5% ≥85 years old). Women presented higher prevalence of frailty, and more were living in a nursing home or alone, and had a higher percentage of PIP related to anxiolytics or pain management drugs. Moreover, they presented significant pairwise associations between CC, such as asthma, vertigo, thyroid diseases, osteoarticular diseases, and sleep disorders, and with GS, such as chronic pain, constipation, and anxiety/depression. No significant differences in immediate adverse outcomes of care were observed between men and women in the exacerbation episode.

Comprehensive Multimorbidity Patterns in Older Patients Are Associated with Quality Indicators of Medication-MoPIM Cohort Study.

Multimorbidity is increasing and poses a challenge to the clinical management of patients with multiple conditions and drug prescriptions. The objectives of this work are to evaluate if multimorbidity patterns are associated with quality indicators of medication: potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) or adverse drug reactions (ADRs). A multicentre prospective cohort study was conducted including 740 older (≥65 years) patients hospitalised due to chronic pathology exacerbation. Sociodemographic, clinical and medication related variables (polypharmacy, PIP according to STOPP/START criteria, ADRs) were collected. Bivariate analyses were performed comparing previously identified multimorbidity clusters (osteoarticular, psychogeriatric, minor chronic disease, cardiorespiratory) to presence, number or specific types of PIP or ADRs. Significant associations were found in all clusters. The osteoarticular cluster presented the highest prevalence of PIP (94.9%) and ADRs (48.2%), mostly related to anxiolytics and antihypertensives, followed by the minor chronic disease cluster, associated with ADRs caused by antihypertensives and insulin. The psychogeriatric cluster presented PIP and ADRs of neuroleptics and the cardiorespiratory cluster indicators were better overall. In conclusion, the associations that were found reinforce the existence of multimorbidity patterns and support specific medication review actions according to each patient profile. Thus, determining the relationship between multimorbidity profiles and quality indicators of medication could help optimise healthcare processes. Trial registration number: NCT02830425.

Multimorbidity patterns of chronic conditions and geriatric syndromes in older patients from the MoPIM multicentre cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the frequency of chronic conditions and geriatric syndromes in older patients admitted to hospital because of an exacerbation of their chronic conditions, and to identify multimorbidity clusters in these patients. DESIGN: Multicentre, prospective cohort study. SETTING: Internal medicine or geriatric services of five general teaching hospitals in Spain. PARTICIPANTS: 740 patients aged 65 and older, hospitalised because of an exacerbation of their chronic conditions between September 2016 and December 2018. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Active chronic conditions and geriatric syndromes (including risk factors) of the patient, a score about clinical management of chronic conditions during admission, and destination at discharge were collected, among other variables. Multimorbidity patterns were identified using fuzzy c-means cluster analysis, taking into account the clinical management score. Prevalence, observed/expected ratio and exclusivity of each chronic condition and geriatric syndrome were calculated for each cluster, and the final solution was approved after clinical revision and discussion among the research team. RESULTS: 740 patients were included (mean age 84.12 years, SD 7.01; 53.24% female). Almost all patients had two or more chronic conditions (98.65%; 95% CI 98.23% to 99.07%), the most frequent were hypertension (81.49%, 95% CI 78.53% to 84.12%) and heart failure (59.86%, 95% CI 56.29% to 63.34%). The most prevalent geriatric syndrome was polypharmacy (79.86%, 95% CI 76.82% to 82.60%). Four statistically and clinically significant multimorbidity clusters were identified: osteoarticular, psychogeriatric, cardiorespiratory and minor chronic disease. Patient-level variables such as sex, Barthel Index, number of chronic conditions or geriatric syndromes, chronic disease exacerbation 3 months prior to admission or destination at discharge differed between clusters. CONCLUSIONS: In older patients admitted to hospital because of the exacerbation of chronic health problems, it is possible to define multimorbidity clusters using soft clustering techniques. These clusters are clinically relevant and could be the basis to reorganise healthcare circuits or processes to tackle the increasing number of older, multimorbid patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02830425.

Hematological toxicity of carboplatin for gynecological cancer according to body mass index.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to analyze how patient weight affects the hematological toxicity of carboplatin and whether this toxicity is more prevalent in overweight patients. METHODS: We performed a retrospective 2-year study of patients diagnosed with a gynecological cancer and whose treatment regimen contained carboplatin (AUC dose = 5 or 6) and paclitaxel (dose = 175 mg/m(2)) every 3 weeks (CP scheme). We recorded all severe hematological events (thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, and/or anemia grade III/IV) according to the CTCAE v4.03, as well as treatment modifications and the need for granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF) and/or erythropoietin (EPO) or packed red blood cells (PRBC). Patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥27 kg/m(2) were considered as overweight (OW) and those with a BMI <27 kg/m(2) were considered as normal weight (NW). RESULTS: Fifty-two patients met the inclusion criteria (21 patients in the OW group, 31 patients in the NW group). The OW group showed a higher incidence of thrombocytopenia (95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.51-27.72; p < 0.02) and anemia (95% CI 1.06-33.63; p < 0.05). Moreover, this was reflected in a greater number of changes in the usual CP regimen (95% CI 2.19-44.32; p < 0.01). The need for G-CSF and/or EPO/PRBC was also significantly higher in the OW group (95% CI 1.08-12.16; p < 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Carboplatin dosing based on real weight in obese patients resulted in increased hematologic toxicity, mainly thrombocytopenia. Dose adjustment based on other descriptors of weight, such as adjusted weight, may be better tolerated by patients. However, future studies are needed to demonstrate not only better safety of carboplatin but also improved survival rates.