ReviewDeutsches Arzteblatt international2016
Polypharmacy-an Upward Trend with Unpredictable Effects.
Review in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Relationship of Continuity of Care, Polypharmacy and Medication Appropriateness: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies.Drugs & aging · 2023Pooled it
- The role of qualification and quality management in the prescription of antipsychotics and potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) in nursing home residents in Germany: results of the HIOPP-3-iTBX study.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2023Trial
- Reduction of Potentially Inappropriate Medication in the Elderly.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2021Trial
- Drug Safety for Nursing-Home Residents-Findings of a Pragmatic, Cluster-Randomized, Controlled Intervention Trialin 44 Nursing Homes.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2021Trial
- Polypharmacy and unit dose dispensing system (UDDS) in geriatric care : Challenges from the perspective of healthcare staff.Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie · 2026Article
- A distributed analysis approach for pharmacovigilance data from electronic medical records in German university hospitals: the POLAR_MI ETL Pipeline.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2026Article
- [Special considerations in geriatric anesthesiology : Aspects of perioperative management in older adults].Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie · 2026Review
- Clinical-Pharmacological Drug Information Center of Hannover Medical School: Update From a Tertiary Care University Hospital (2022-2024).Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Article
- Human vs. artificial intelligence: Physicians outperform ChatGPT in real-world pharmacotherapy counselling.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitude, and practice of dentists in India regarding geriatric oral healthcare and polypharmacy management: a cross-sectional study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- [How can the suitability of a geriatric patient for uro-oncological treatment be determined?]Urologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- [Recording medication errors in Germany-a workshop report].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026Article
- Differential risk signals of cutaneous adverse drug reactions among β-lactam antibiotics: ceftriaxone shows increased signals for SJS/TEN in clinical and real-world cohorts.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Vasoactivity of Rac GTPase, Cytohesin and Kinase Inhibitors in Renal Interlobar and Coronary Arteries Reveals Shared and Distinct Patterns of Inhibitory Effects in Vascular and Prostate Smooth Muscle Contraction.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2025Article
- DDI-CYP: Metabolism ensemble models for drug-drug interaction predictions.Drug metabolism and disposition: the biological fate of chemicals · 2025Article
- Antagonism of prostate αThe Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2025Article
- Fostering collaboration: a controlled pilot study of interprofessional education for medical and pharmacy students.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- [Special considerations in geriatric anesthesiology : Aspects of perioperative management in older adults].Die Anaesthesiologie · 2025Review
- A randomized controlled trial of acupuncture and receptive music therapy for sleep disorders in the elderly-ELAMUS: study protocol.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Article
- Can peer effects explain prescribing appropriateness? a social network analysis.BMC medical research methodology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGuideline-oriented treatments can lead to polypharmacy, i.e., the simultaneous long-term use of multiple drugs. Polypharmacy mainly affects elderly patients. The goal of this review is to survey the current scientific evidence about polypharmacy, focusing on clinical endpoints, and to point out implications for medical practice and research.
methodsThis selective literature review is based on pertinent publications that were retrieved by a selective search in PubMed employing the terms "polypharmacy AND general practice." Selected references were considered as well.
resultsIn Germany, polypharmacy currently affects approximately 42% of persons over age 65, with an ongoing upward trend. 20-25% of these patients receive potentially inappropriate drugs. Approximately 86% of the daily doses of drugs taken by persons over age 65 are prescribed by general practitioners. There is inconsistent evidence on the question whether polypharmacy affects clinical endpoints such as mortality. It cannot be determined with certainty whether polypharmacy itself, or the underlying multimorbidity, is the reason for worse clinical outcomes. Lists, instruments, and guidelines such as PRISCUS (a list of potentially inappropriate drugs for elderly patients), FORTA (Fit fOR The Aged), MAI (the Medication Appropriateness Index), and the Hausärztliche Leitlinie Multimedikation (a German-language guideline on polypharmacy for general practitioners) can help physicians take care of patients who are taking multiple drugs. It has not yet been proven, however, that their use has any effect on clinical outcomes.
conclusionThe decision whether to keep giving a drug or to discontinue it must always be made individually on the basis of current treatment goals; drug lists and a pertinent general practitioners' guideline can be useful aids in decision-making. Efforts to pay more attention to multimorbidity and polypharmacy in future studies and guidelines are deserving of support.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.