Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24862100›Full record

ArticleDrugs & aging2014

Polypharmacy and medication regimen complexity as factors associated with hospital discharge destination among older people: a prospective cohort study.

Barbara Caecilia Wimmer, Elsa Dent, Renuka Visvanathan, Michael David Wiese, Kristina Johnell, Ian Chapman, J Simon Bell

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In one paragraph

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 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pharmacists' Role in Older Adults' Medication Regimen Complexity: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
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  7. Medication regimen complexity in cancer patients: an overlooked issue for healthcare team.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
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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

7 authors.

Barbara Caecilia WimmerSansom Institute, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia, Barbara.Wimmer@monash.edu.
Elsa Dent
Renuka Visvanathan
Michael David Wiese
Kristina Johnell
Ian Chapman
J Simon Bell

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOlder people often take multiple medications. It is a policy priority to facilitate older people to stay at home longer. Three-quarters of nursing home placements in the US are preceded by a hospitalization.

objectiveTo investigate the association between polypharmacy and medication regimen complexity with hospital discharge destination among older people.

methodsThis prospective cohort study comprised patients aged ≥70 years consecutively admitted to the Geriatric Evaluation and Management unit at a tertiary hospital in Adelaide, Australia, between October 2010 and December 2011. Medication regimen complexity at discharge was calculated using the 65-item validated Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI). Unadjusted and adjusted relative risks (RRs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for medication-related factors associated with discharge directly to home versus non-community settings (rehabilitation, transition care, and residential aged care).

resultsFrom 163 eligible patients, 87 were discharged directly to home (mean age 84.6 years, standard deviation [SD] 6.9; mean MRCI 26.1, SD 9.7), while 76 were discharged to non-community settings (mean age 85.8 years, SD 5.8; mean MRCI 29.9, SD 13.2). After adjusting for age, sex, comorbidity, and activities of daily living, having a high medication regimen complexity (MRCI >35) was inversely associated with discharge directly to home (RR 0.39; 95 % CI 0.20-0.73), whereas polypharmacy (≥9 medications) was not significantly associated with discharge directly to home (RR 0.97; 95 % CI 0.53-1.58).

conclusionHaving high medication regimen complexity was inversely associated with discharge directly to home, while polypharmacy was not associated with discharge destination.

Indexed as

Decision TreesHealth Services for the AgedAgedAged, 80 and overAustraliaCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleOutcome Assessment, Health CarePatient DischargePharmaceutical PreparationsProspective StudiesPharmaceutical Preparations

Identifiers

PMID24862100

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.