Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39433028›Full record

ArticleMedical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre2025

FORTA Score and Negative Outcomes in Older Adults: Insights from Italian Internal Medicine Wards.

Marina Azab, Alessio Novella, Luca Pasina

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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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

3 authors.

Marina AzabIstituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
Alessio NovellaIstituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
Luca PasinaIstituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe study aimed to assess the relationship between the Fit fOR The Aged (FORTA) score - a classification system designed to evaluate medication appropriateness in older adults - and several negative outcomes, including impaired cognitive performance, functional status, adverse clinical events, and all-cause mortality at 3, 6, and 12 months after hospital discharge.

methodsThis retrospective study utilized data from the ELICADHE cohort, a cluster-randomized trial conducted across 20 Italian internal medicine and geriatric wards. The study included patients aged 75 and older with complete FORTA score assessments. Demographics, medication history, and comorbidities were collected. The FORTA classification system assessed medication appropriateness. FORTA scores were calculated and FORTA score cut-offs (3 and 5) were applied. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, survival analysis with Cox regression, logistic regression, and negative-binomial regression using SAS 9.4 and RStudio 12.1. Ethical approval was obtained.

resultsOf the 506 patients included, 171 (33.8%) were fully assessable with complete FORTA scores. The study found no significant association between higher FORTA scores and impaired cognitive performance, functional status, or mortality. Additionally, no clear relationship was observed between FORTA scores and adverse clinical events or mortality. The analysis indicated that age was a significant factor associated with mortality and adverse clinical events.

conclusionThe study did not find a significant relationship between the FORTA score and negative outcomes in older patients discharged from internal medicine and geriatric wards. Further research is needed to define specific FORTA score cut-off values and expand the criteria to improve medication assessment in this population.

objectivesThe study aimed to assess the relationship between the Fit fOR The Aged (FORTA) score - a classification system designed to evaluate medication appropriateness in older adults - and several negative outcomes, including impaired cognitive performance, functional status, adverse clinical events, and all-cause mortality at 3, 6, and 12 months after hospital discharge.

methodsThis retrospective study utilized data from the ELICADHE cohort, a cluster-randomized trial conducted across 20 Italian internal medicine and geriatric wards. The study included patients aged 75 and older with complete FORTA score assessments. Demographics, medication history, and comorbidities were collected. The FORTA classification system assessed medication appropriateness. FORTA scores were calculated and FORTA score cut-offs (3 and 5) were applied. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, survival analysis with Cox regression, logistic regression, and negative-binomial regression using SAS 9.4 and RStudio 12.1. Ethical approval was obtained.

resultsOf the 506 patients included, 171 (33.8%) were fully assessable with complete FORTA scores. The study found no significant association between higher FORTA scores and impaired cognitive performance, functional status, or mortality. Additionally, no clear relationship was observed between FORTA scores and adverse clinical events or mortality. The analysis indicated that age was a significant factor associated with mortality and adverse clinical events.

conclusionThe study did not find a significant relationship between the FORTA score and negative outcomes in older patients discharged from internal medicine and geriatric wards. Further research is needed to define specific FORTA score cut-off values and expand the criteria to improve medication assessment in this population.

Indexed as

Geriatric AssessmentGeriatricsInappropriate PrescribingInternal MedicineAgedAged, 80 and overCognitive DysfunctionFemaleFunctional StatusHumansItalyMaleMortalityPatient DischargePotentially Inappropriate Medication ListRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAdverse clinical eventsFit fOR The AgedMedication

Identifiers

PMID39433028
PMCPMC11805544

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