Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24687310›Full record

ArticleDrugs & aging2014

Trends in inappropriate drug therapy prescription in the elderly in Sweden from 2006 to 2013: assessment using national indicators.

Bo Hovstadius, Göran Petersson, Lina Hellström, Lisa Ericson

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Article in Drugs & aging, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
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39citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Bo HovstadiusDepartment of Medicine and Optometry, eHealth Institute, Linnaeus University, 391 82, Kalmar, Sweden, bo.hovstadius@lnu.se.
Göran Petersson
Lina Hellström
Lisa Ericson

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMedication for elderly patients is often complex and problematic. Several criteria for classifying inappropriate prescribing exist. In 2010, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare published the document "Indicators of appropriate drug therapy in the elderly" as a guideline for improving prescribing for the elderly.

objectiveThe aim of this study was to assess trends in the prescription of inappropriate drug therapy in the elderly in Sweden from 2006 to 2013 using national quality indicators for drug treatment.

methodsIndividual-based data on dispensed prescription drugs for the entire Swedish population aged ≥65 years during eight 3-month periods from 2006 to 2013 were accumulated. The data were extracted from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register. Eight drug-specific quality indicators were monitored.

resultsFor the entire population studied (n = 1,828,283 in 2013), six of the eight indicators showed an improvement according to the guidelines; the remaining two indicators (drugs with anticholinergic effects and excessive polypharmacy) remained relatively unchanged. For the subgroup aged 65-74 years, three indicators showed an improvement, four indicators remained relatively unchanged (e.g. propiomazine, and oxazepam) and one showed an undesirable trend (anticholinergic drugs) according to guidelines. For the older group (aged ≥75 years), all indicators except excessive polypharmacy showed improvement.

conclusionAccording to the quality indicators used, the extent of inappropriate drug therapy in the elderly decreased from 2006 to 2013 in Sweden. Thus, prescribers appear to be more likely to change their prescribing patterns for the elderly than previously assumed.

Indexed as

Quality Indicators, Health CareAgedAged, 80 and overHumansInappropriate PrescribingPolypharmacyPrescription DrugsPsychotropic DrugsRegistriesSwedenPrescription DrugsPsychotropic Drugs

Identifiers

PMID24687310
PMCPMC3997827

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