Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33576506›Full record

ReviewJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2021

Medication review interventions to reduce hospital readmissions in older people.

Lauren Dautzenberg, Lisa Bretagne, Huiberdina L Koek, Sofia Tsokani, Stella Zevgiti, Nicolas Rodondi, Rob J P M Scholten, Anne W Rutjes, Marcello Di Nisio, Renee C M A Raijmann and 5 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract readReviewNetwork Meta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
46citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
9.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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

46 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 105 citations in OpenAlex.

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  16. [S1 guideline on sustainability in intensive care and emergency medicine].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 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

15 authors at 7 institutions in 7 countries.

Lauren DautzenbergDepartment of Geriatric Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-2502-9988
Lisa BretagneDepartment of General Internal Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Huiberdina L KoekDepartment of Geriatric Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Sofia TsokaniDepartment of Primary Education, School of Education, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
Stella ZevgitiDepartment of Primary Education, School of Education, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
Nicolas RodondiDepartment of General Internal Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Rob J P M ScholtenCochrane Netherlands/Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Anne W RutjesInstitute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Marcello Di NisioDepartment of Medicine and Ageing Sciences, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy.
Renee C M A RaijmannDepartment of Geriatric Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Marielle Emmelot-VonkDepartment of Geriatric Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Emma L M JenningsSchool of Medicine, University College Cork, National University of Ireland, Cork, Ireland.
Olivia DalleurLouvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI), Clinical Pharmacy Research Group, Université catholique de Louvain-UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Dimitris MavridisDepartment of Primary Education, School of Education, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
Wilma KnolDepartment of Geriatric Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Utrecht University · NLUniversity of Bern · CHUniversity of Ioannina · GRCliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc · BEDélégation Paris 5 · FRNational University of Ireland · IEUniversity of Chieti-Pescara · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo assess the efficacy of medication review as an isolated intervention and with several co-interventions for preventing hospital readmissions in older adults.

methodsOvid MEDLINE, Embase, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and CINAHL were searched for randomized controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of medication review interventions with or without co-interventions to prevent hospital readmissions in hospitalized or recently discharged adults aged ≥65, until September 13, 2019. Included outcomes were "at least one all-cause hospital readmission within 30 days and at any time after discharge from the index admission."

resultsTwenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 11 studies (7,318 participants) contributed to the network meta-analysis (NMA) on all-cause hospital readmission within 30 days. Medication review in combination with (a) medication reconciliation and patient education (risk ratio (RR) 0.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.26-0.80) and (b) medication reconciliation, patient education, professional education and transitional care (RR 0.64; 95% CI 0.49-0.84) were associated with a lower risk of all-cause hospital readmission compared to usual care. Medication review in isolation did not significantly influence hospital readmissions (RR 1.06; 95% CI 0.45-2.51). The NMA on all-cause hospital readmission at any time included 24 studies (11,677 participants). Medication review combined with medication reconciliation, patient education, professional education and transitional care resulted in a reduction of hospital readmissions (RR 0.82; 95% CI 0.74-0.91) compared to usual care. The quality of the studies included in this systematic review raised some concerns, mainly regarding allocation concealment, blinding and contamination.

conclusionMedication review in combination with medication reconciliation, patient education, professional education and transitional care, was associated with a lower risk of hospital readmissions compared to usual care. An effect of medication review without co-interventions was not demonstrated. Trials of higher quality are needed in this field.

Indexed as

HospitalizationMedication ReconciliationTransitional CareAgedHumansPatient Readmissionhospital readmissionmedication reviewolder adults

Identifiers

PMID33576506
PMCPMC8247962
OpenAlexW3127354487

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.