ArticleBJGP open2021
Excessive polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate prescribing in 147 care homes: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BJGP open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations Between Multimorbidity, Polypharmacy and Oral Conditions in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Gerodontology · 2026Pooled it
- Hospital admissions due to adverse drug reactions and adverse drug events in older adults: a systematic review.Age and ageing · 2025Pooled it
- What happens when pharmacist independent prescribers lead on medicine management in older people's care homes: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2023Trial
- Fragmented Care, Fragmented Safety: Care Coordination and Deprescribing Strategies to Reduce Polypharmacy-Related Harm in Assisted Living-A Public Health Perspective.Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Unwarranted variation in potentially inappropriate medication in general practice: a Danish nationwide register-based cohort study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Pharmacists' role in interventions addressing excessive polypharmacy: a scoping review.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Regular Medications Administered to Older Adults in Aged Care Facilities: A Retrospective Descriptive Study.Journal of clinical nursing · 2026Article
- Identifying Predictors and Measuring Variation in Anticholinergic Burden and Sedative Load for Older Adult Care Home Residents: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Routinely Collected Data.Pragmatic and observational research · 2026Article
- Observational
- Service delivery and the role of clinical pharmacists in UK primary care for older people, including people with dementia: a scoping review.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Enhancing medication appropriateness: Insights from the STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions) criteria version 3 on prescribing practices among the older adults in Pakistan.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Article
- Household size and its role in the association between multimorbidity and health and social care outcomes in older adults in Wales: retrospective cohort study.BMJ medicine · 2025Article
- Deaths at home during COVID-19 in Scotland: Demographics, multimorbidity, and palliative care needs in population data.International journal of population data science · 2025Article
- "Research happens a lot in other settings-so why not here?" A qualitative interview study of stakeholders' views about advance planning for care home residents' research participation.Age and ageing · 2024Article
- Factors associated with long-term efficacy of lubiprostone for chronic constipation.Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition · 2023Article
- Development and Validation of Comprehensive Healthcare Providers' Opinions, Preferences, and Attitudes towards Deprescribing (CHOPPED Questionnaire).Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Polypharmacy and potential drug-drug interactions among Greenland's care home residents.Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCare home residents often have multiple cognitive and physical impairments, and are at high risk of adverse drug events (ADEs).
aimTo describe excessive polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate prescribing predisposing care home residents to ADEs. DESIGN &
settingA cross-sectional analysis of all dispensed prescriptions for 147 care home residents in Tayside and Fife, Scotland.
methodPrevalence of excessive polypharmacy was examined using multilevel logistic regression, by modelling associations between individual and care home predictors with excessive polypharmacy (≥10 drugs). Prescribing of drugs known to increase the risk of eight clinically important ADE categories was examined. Drugs prescribed within each ADE category, for each resident, were counted.
resultsIn total, 32.3% (
conclusionExcessive polypharmacy is common in care home residents and is associated with both individual and care home predictors. Potentially inappropriate prescribing of drugs that predisposed residents to all included ADE categories is common. Research is needed to support and evaluate safe care home prescribing practices.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.