Explicit versus implicit evaluation to detect inappropriate medication use in geriatric outpatients.

Aim: The rates and reasons why clinicians decide not to follow recommendations from explicit-criteria have been studied scarce. We aimed to compare STOPP version 2 representing one of the most commonly used excplicit tool with the implicit comprehensive geriatric assessment mediated clinical evaluation considered as gold standard.Methods: Two hundred and six (n = 206) outpatients ≥65 years old were included. The study was designed as retrospective, cross-sectional, and randomised. STOPP version 2 criteria were systematically used to assess pre-admission treatments followed by implicit clinical evaluation regarding two questions: Were the STOPP criteria recommendations valid for the individual patient and were there any potentially inappropriate-prescription other than depicted by STOPP version 2 criteria? The underlying reason(s) and associated clinical-features were noted.Results: About 62.6% potentially inappropriate-prescriptions were identified (0.6 per-subject) according to systematic application of STOPP v2 while it was 53.4% (0.5 potentially inappropriate-prescriptions per subject) by clinician's application of STOPP v2. Prevalence of non-compliance was 14.7% in 18 (21.7%) of 83 patients identified by systematic application. Suggestion to stop a drug was not accepted because of need of treatment despite likelihood of anticipated side-effects in about 2/3 and with no-anticipated side-effects in about 1/3 of non-compliances. Not following STOPP v2 was significantly associated with lower functional level. According to clinician's implicit-evaluation, there were an extra 59.2% potentially inappropriate-prescriptions (0.6 per subject) in 80 (38.8%) patients yielding a total of 112.6% potentially inappropriate-prescription.Conclusions: Most of the STOPP v2 directed drug cessations are decided valid by the clinicians. In patients with higher functional dependency, it is likely that they are not followed due to palliation focussed care/patient-family preferences. There may be as much as STOPP v2 identified potentially inappropriate-prescriptions by implicit evaluation in a significant percent of geriatric patients signifying need for comprehensive geriatric evaluation in practice.

The relationship between common geriatric syndromes and potentially inappropriate medication use among older adults.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use in older adults is a major public health problem associated with morbidity and mortality. Aging is associated with metabolic changes and decreased drug clearance, increased drug-drug interactions, prescribing cascades, and potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between a common geriatric syndromes and PIM use among older adults. METHODS: Study participants were recruited among patients admitted to Istanbul Medical School Geriatrics outpatient clinic between June 2000 and June 2014 and were evaluated retrospectively by a geriatrician using the patients' records according to Beers 2012 criteria. RESULTS: Among the 667 enrolled patients, 421 (63.1%) were women and 246 (36.9%) were men. The use of PIM was not associated with age or sex. Polypharmacy (OR 4.86, 95% CI 3.25-7.27, p < 0.001), malnutrition (OR 2.69, 95% CI 1.52-4.76, p = 0.001), depression (OR 2.61, 95% CI 1.7-3.95, p < 0.001), presence of fall in the previous year (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.51-3.32, p < 0.001), and dementia (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.08-2.65, p = 0.021) were independently associated with the use of PIM. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study suggest that PIM use is independently associated with presence of polypharmacy, malnutrition, depression, falls and dementia in older outpatients. Identifying the association of inappropriate medication use with common geriatric syndromes in older people can help to prevent, delay, and reduce PIM use and related adverse health outcomes.

The Turkish experience with therapeutic plasma exchange: A national survey.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is used to treat more than 60 diseases worldwide and has drawn growing interest. Little is known about the current situation of TPE activity in Turkey, so we developed a survey to obtain information about this timely topic. We collected data on TPE from 28 apheresis units throughout Turkey. We performed a total of 24,912 TPE procedures with 3203 patients over the past decade. Twenty years ago, the majority of procedures were performed for neurological and hematological disorders, and today, most TPE procedures are done for the same reasons. The only historical change has been an increase in TPE procedures in renal conditions. Currently, renal conditions were more frequently an indication for TPE than rheumatic conditions. Fresh frozen plasma was the most frequently used replacement fluid, followed by 5% albumin, used in 57.9% and 34.6% of procedures, respectively. The most frequently used anticoagulants in TPE were ACD-A and heparin/ACD-A, used with 1671 (52.2%) and 1164 (36.4%) patients, respectively. The frequency of adverse events (AEs) was 12.6%. The most common AEs were hypocalcemia-related symptoms, hypotension, and urticaria. We encountered no severe AEs that led to severe morbidity and mortality. Overall, more than two thirds of the patients showed improvement in the underlying disease. Here, we report on a nationwide survey on TPE activity in Turkey. We conclude that there has been a great increase in apheresis science, and the number of TPE procedures conducted in Turkey has increased steadily over time. Finally, we would like to point out that our past experiences and published international guidelines were the most important tools in gaining expertise regarding TPE.

Serum Copper and Zinc Levels in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia.

Although the pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenia is not fully known, oxidative stress is one of the etiological causes. Copper and zinc are elements in the antioxidant system, and their deficiency causes oxidative stress. We aimed to determine the serum copper and zinc levels and their effects on the response to treatment in patients with immune thrombocytopenia. We analyzed 51 patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia and 33 control cases. Age, gender, and platelet values at the time of diagnosis, drugs used for the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia, remission status, and serum copper and zinc levels were recorded. The primary immune thrombocytopenia and control groups were compared in terms of serum copper and zinc levels. In addition, the relationship between the response status to the treatment of patients with immune thrombocytopenia and serum copper and zinc levels was investigated. The serum zinc level in the immune thrombocytopenia group and control group was 10.35 ± 3.28 µmol/L and 12.82 ± 2.41 µmol/L, respectively (p = 0.01). The serum copper level in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (77.3 ± 22.23 µg/dL) was significantly lower than the control group (99.4 ± 20.82 µg/dL) (p = 0.01). A significant correlation was found between the response to first-line treatment of primary immune thrombocytopenia and serum copper level (p = 0.005). The serum copper level was significantly lower in relapsed cases (p = 0.001). In conclusion, serum copper and zinc levels are lower in patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia than in healthy cases. Patients with relapsed or unresponsive to immune thrombocytopenia treatment have lower serum copper levels than other patients.

Prognostic Value of Baseline Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase Level in Patients With Hairy Cell Leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Hairy cell leukemia is a rare B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. It has an indolent course with relapse and remission periods. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors affecting the outcome of patients with hairy cell leukemia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The retrospective data of 65 patients were evaluated according to initial hematologic and biochemical parameters, response rates, progression-free survival, and overall survival. Factors effecting response and survival rates were analyzed. RESULTS: The median follow-up duration was 62.8 months (range, 5.7-229.3 months). The result of the analysis showed that the patients with relapse/progressive disease had higher lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels at the time of diagnosis than patients without relapse/progression (median [range], 243 [137-540] vs. 179 [99-334] U/L, P = .01). Patients with LDH ≥ 200.5 IU at the time of diagnosis were demonstrated to have a shorter progression-free survival than those with LDH < 200.5 IU (P = .010). CONCLUSION: Serum LDH level is significantly associated with relapse/progression in hairy cell leukemia patients. Patients with higher LDH levels at diagnosis should be monitored closely even if they experience complete remission.

Prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing among older adults: A comparison of the Beers 2012 and Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions criteria version 2.

AIM: To date, there is no study comparing the Beers 2012 and Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescriptions (STOPP) version 2 criteria, nor reporting a comparison of the prevalence of potentially inappropriate Prescribing (PIM) with STOPP version 2. We aimed to evaluate the prescriptions of patients admitted to a geriatric outpatient clinic with these tools, and to document the factors related to PIM use. METHODS: Older patients (aged ≥65 years) admitted to the outpatient clinic of a university hospital were retrospectively evaluated for PIM with Beers 2012 and STOPP version 2 criteria. Age; sex; chronic disease and number of drugs; and functional, depression and nutritional statuses were studied with regression analysis as possible factors related to PIM. RESULTS: The study included 667 participants (63.1% women, mean age 77.6 ± 6.3 years). The mean number of drugs was 6.1 ± 3.4. PIM prevalence detected by STOPP version 2 was higher than that of the Beers 2012 criteria (39.1% vs 33.3%, respectively; P < 0.001; Z = -3.5) with moderate agreement in between (kappa = 0.44). Antipsychotics, over-the-counter vitamin/supplements, aspirin, selective-serotonin-reuptake-inhibitors and anticholinergics were the leading drug classes for PIM. The extent of polypharmacy (P < 0.001, OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.20-1.38) was the most important variable related to PIM, along with the multiple comorbidities (P = 0.005, OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.05-1.30). Higher level of functionality was inversely associated with PIM (P = 0.009, OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.97). CONCLUSIONS: Inappropriate prescription prevalence of ~40% by STOPP version 2 was similar to the global worldwide prevalence - yet at the upper end. STOPP version 2 was more successful than Beers 2012 to detect PIM. Patients with multiple drug use, multiple comorbidities and more dependency were more likely to have PIM requiring special attention during prescription. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1245-1251.

Acute Renal Failure due to Leukaemic Infiltration in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a malignancy characterized by clonal proliferation and accumulation of B lymphocytes. Although leukaemic infiltration of the kidney is well recognized in CLL, acute renal failure (ARF) due to leukaemic infiltration is extremely rare. Here we present a case of ARF as the initial manifestation of CLL. The diagnosis was made by a kidney biopsy. Treatment with cyclophosphamide and prednisolone resulted in a completely improved renal function.