Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22642781›Full record

ReviewDrugs & aging2012

Underprescription of beneficial medicines in older people: causes, consequences and prevention.

Antonio Cherubini, Andrea Corsonello, Fabrizia Lattanzio

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Drugs & aging, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
50citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
5.3field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

50 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 120 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Antonio CherubiniGeriatric Hospital, Italian National Research Centres on Aging (INRCA), Ancona, Italy. a.cherubini@inrca.it
Andrea Corsonello
Fabrizia Lattanzio
Istituto Nazionale di Riposo e Cura per Anziani · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Underprescription of potentially useful drugs is widespread among older people and may herald several adverse outcomes. We aimed to review the evidence pertaining to the epidemiology, causes and consequences of underprescribing, as well as recent advances in the development of interventions able to reduce underprescribing and improve outcomes in older people. Underprescribing is highly prevalent across different settings, including in the community, hospitals and nursing homes. Multimorbidity, polypharmacy, ageism, lack of scientific evidence, fear of adverse events and economic problems may contribute to the underprescription of indicated drugs, although in some patients, a limited life expectancy, the lack of a favourable risk-to-benefit ratio or a patient's refusal might represent appropriate reasons not to prescribe a drug. Selected interventions may help to improve the quality of prescriptions and reduce the burden of underprescribing. Among these, comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) has been demonstrated to effectively improve prescribing practice. Interventions based on service delivery changes, such as those that include a clinical pharmacist or a case manager in the process of care, were also found to improve the quality of pharmacological prescriptions. Educational interventions may also be effective in reducing underprescribing. More recently, the clinical application of the Screening Tool to Alert Doctors to Right Treatment (START) criteria has been able to significantly reduce underprescribing. Since START criteria are easier to apply in clinical practice than other instruments, it is conceivable that their systematic use may contribute to reducing underprescribing and to improving health outcomes in older patients.

Indexed as

AgedDrug PrescriptionsHumansMedication Errors

Identifiers

PMID22642781
OpenAlexW1935923679

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.