Deprescribing antipsychotics for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia and insomnia: Evidence-based clinical practice guideline.

OBJECTIVE: To develop an evidence-based guideline to help clinicians make decisions about when and how to safely taper and stop antipsychotics; to focus on the highest level of evidence available and seek input from primary care professionals in the guideline development, review, and endorsement processes. METHODS: The overall team comprised 9 clinicians (1 family physician, 1 family physician specializing in long-term care, 1 geriatric psychiatrist, 2 geriatricians, 4 pharmacists) and a methodologist; members disclosed conflicts of interest. For guideline development, a systematic process was used, including the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach. Evidence was generated from a Cochrane systematic review of antipsychotic deprescribing trials for the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, and a systematic review was conducted to assess the evidence behind the benefits of using antipsychotics for insomnia. A review of reviews of the harms of continued antipsychotic use was performed, as well as narrative syntheses of patient preferences and resource implications. This evidence and GRADE quality-of-evidence ratings were used to generate recommendations. The team refined guideline content and recommendation wording through consensus and synthesized clinical considerations to address common front-line clinician questions. The draft guideline was distributed to clinicians and stakeholders for review and revisions were made at each stage. RECOMMENDATIONS: We recommend deprescribing antipsychotics for adults with behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia treated for at least 3 months (symptoms stabilized or no response to an adequate trial) and for adults with primary insomnia treated for any duration or secondary insomnia in which underlying comorbidities are managed. A decision-support algorithm was developed to accompany the guideline. CONCLUSION: Antipsychotics are associated with harms and can be safely tapered. Patients and caregivers might be more amenable to deprescribing if they understand the rationale (potential for harm), are involved in developing the tapering plan, and are offered behavioural advice or management. This guideline provides recommendations for making decisions about when and how to reduce the dose of or stop antipsychotics. Recommendations are meant to assist with, not dictate, decision making in conjunction with patients and families.

Déprescription des antipsychotiques pour les symptômes comportementaux et psychologiques de la démence et l'insomnie: Guide de pratique clinique fondé sur des données probantes.

OBJECTIF: Élaborer un guide de pratique clinique fondé sur des données probantes pour aider les cliniciens à prendre des décisions quant au moment et à la façon de réduire et de cesser les antipsychotiques en toute sécurité; insister sur les données les plus probantes et solliciter les contributions des professionnels des soins primaires pour l'élaboration, la révision et l'approbation des lignes directrices. MÉTHODOLOGIE: L'équipe comptait 9 cliniciens (1 médecin de famille, 1 médecin de famille spécialisée en soins de longue durée, 1 psychiatre gériatrique, 2 gériatres, 4 pharmaciens) et une spécialiste en méthodologie; les membres ont divulgué leurs conflits d'intérêts. Un processus systématique a été utilisé pour l'élaboration du guide de pratique, y compris le protocole GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation). Les données probantes ont été tirées d'une revue systématique de Cochrane portant sur des études sur la déprescription des antipsychotiques pour les symptômes comportementaux et psychologiques de la démence. Nous avons effectué une revue systématique pour évaluer les données probantes étayant les bienfaits de l'utilisation des antipsychotiques pour traiter l'insomnie. Nous avons examiné les revues portant sur les torts associés à l'utilisation des antipsychotiques sur une base continue, et nous avons fait une synthèse narrative des préférences des patients et des répercussions sur le plan des ressources. Ces données probantes, de même que l'évaluation de la qualité des données selon GRADE, ont été utilisées pour produire les recommandations. L'équipe a peaufiné le contenu du guide de pratique et le libellé des recommandations, et elle a résumé les considérations d'ordre clinique pour répondre aux questions courantes des cliniciens de première ligne. Une ébauche du guide de pratique a été distribuée à des cliniciens et à des intervenants aux fins d'examen. Des révisions ont été apportées au texte à chaque étape. RECOMMANDATIONS: Nous recommandons la déprescription des antipsychotiques chez les adultes ayant des symptômes comportementaux et psychologiques de démence traités depuis au moins 3 mois (symptômes stabilisés ou sans réponse après un essai adéquat) et chez les adultes souffrant d'insomnie primaire, quelle que soit la durée du traitement, ou d'une insomnie secondaire lorsque les comorbidités sous-jacentes sont prises en charge. Un algorithme décisionnel accompagne le guide de pratique clinique. CONCLUSION: Les antipsychotiques sont associés à des préjudices et il est possible de procéder à un sevrage en toute sécurité. Les patients et leurs aidants peuvent être plus réceptifs à la déprescription s'ils comprennent ce qui la justifie (potentiel de préjudices), s'ils participent à l'élaboration du plan de sevrage et si on leur offre des conseils ou une prise en charge quant aux comportements. Le présent guide de pratique clinique offre des recommandations pour décider du moment et de la façon de réduire la dose d'antipsychotiques ou de les cesser complètement. Les recommandations servent à aider à prendre les décisions conjointement avec les patients et leur famille plutôt qu'à les dicter.

Comparison of the English and French versions of the CASPer® Test in a bilingual population.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Objective The University of Ottawa MD program has two different streams to which candidates may apply: a francophone stream and an anglophone stream. As the admissions office receives applications in both French and English, they are required to ensure that the tools used to assess candidates are psychometrically equivalent across both streams. CASPer is a standardized test they recently adopted to assess the non-cognitive competencies of applicants and is offered in both English and French. The objective of this study is to compare the psychometric properties of the English and French versions of CASPer. Methods We collected data from all CASPer test-takers across three cohorts (n = 12,463; entry 2016, entry 2017, entry 2018). We first compared the difficulty of the test between the French and English version using proxy indicators (i.e., time to completion, typing speed). We then compared the psychometric properties of the two versions based on their internal-consistency reliability and applicant acceptability. Results There were some indications that the French version may be slightly more difficult than the English version of the CASPer test. However, it is unclear whether this difficulty is due to the difficulty of the individual test items or to differences in the characteristics of the cohort. Nevertheless, a comparison of the psychometric indicators suggests that both French and English versions of CASPer are psychometrically sound and equivalent. Conclusion Although CASPer scores cannot be directly compared between the English and French versions, the psychometric properties of the assessment were retained across the two versions. These results provide preliminary evidence that the psychometric strengths of the English version of CASPer likely extend to the French version of the assessment.

Management of chronic heart failure in the older population.

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is the leading cause of hospitalization for those over the age of 65 and represents a significant clinical and economic burden. About half of hospital re-admissions are related to co-morbidities, polypharmacy and disabilities associated with CHF. Moreover, CHF also has an enormous cost in terms of poor prognosis with an average one year mortality of 33%-35%. While more than half of patients with CHF are over 75 years, most clinical trials have included younger patients with a mean age of 61 years. Inadequate data makes treatment decisions challenging for the providers. Older CHF patients are more often female, have less cardiovascular diseases and associated risk factors, but higher rates of non-cardiovascular conditions and diastolic dysfunction. The prevalence of CHF with reduced ejection fraction, ischemic heart disease, and its risk factors declines with age, whereas the prevalence of non-cardiac co-morbidities, such as chronic renal failure, dementia, anemia and malignancy increases with age. Diabetes and hypertension are among the strongest risk factors as predictors of CHF particularly among women with coronary heart disease. This review paper will focus on the specific consideration for CHF assessment in the older population. Management strategies will be reviewed, including non-pharmacologic, pharmacologic, quality care indicators, quality improvement in care transition and lastly, end-of-life issues. Palliative care should be an integral part of an interdisciplinary team approach for a comprehensive care plan over the whole disease trajectory. In addition, frailty contributes valuable prognostic insight incremental to existing risk models and assists clinicians in defining optimal care pathways for their patients.

Utilization of home telemonitoring in patients 75 years of age and over with complex heart failure.

We conducted a chart review on all patients who had received home telemonitoring after an admission for heart failure at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. During a 5 year period (2005-2009) a total of 645 patients had home monitoring. A total of 594 patients met the inclusion criteria for the study and were divided into two groups: Group 1 (<75 years of age) contained 350 patients and Group 2 (≥75 years of age) contained 244 patients. There was no significant difference between the groups in the mean duration of follow-up by the telemonitoring team: it was 126.5 days in Group 1 and 125.4 days in Group 2 (P = 0.89). There were no significant differences between the groups in the number of times that titration of diuretic medications occurred, the number of times that titration of cardiac medications occurred, the number of interventions for abnormal vital signs or the number of times that patients were called by the telemonitoring staff. Emergency room visits, hospitalizations and the number of deaths were also not different between two groups. Thus in the telemonitoring programme, the pattern of usage by older patients was similar to that of the younger ones. Based on the present study, the elderly do not require more resources nor do they require them for longer.

Closing the osteoporosis care gap in hip fracture patients: an opportunity to decrease recurrent fractures and hospital admissions.

Background. Falls and hip fractures are an increasing health threat to older people who often never return to independent living. This study examines the management of bone health in an acute care setting following a hip fracture in patients over age 65. Methods. Retrospective chart review of all patients admitted to a tertiary health facility who suffered a recent hip fracture. Results. 420 charts of patients admitted over the course of a year (May 1, 2007-April 31, 2008) were reviewed. Thirty-seven percent of patients were supplemented with calcium on discharge, and 36% were supplemented with vitamin D on discharge. Thirty-one percent were discharged on a bisphosphonate. Conclusion. A significant care gap still exists in how osteoporosis is addressed despite guidelines on optimal management. A call to action is required by use of multifaceted approaches to bridge the gap, ensuring that fracture risk is minimized for the aging population.