Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39895509›Full record

ArticleAge and ageing2025

Impact of in-hospital medication changes on clinical outcomes in older inpatients: the journey and destination.

Nashwa Masnoon, Sarita Lo, Danijela Gnjidic, Andrew J McLachlan, Fiona M Blyth, Rosemary Burke, Ana W Capuano, Sarah N Hilmer

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Age and ageing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

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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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Drug-drug interaction identification using large language models.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025
    Article
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

8 authors.

Nashwa MasnoonKolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney and Northern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7123-9583
Sarita LoKolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney and Northern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Danijela GnjidicSydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Andrew J McLachlanSydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Fiona M BlythSydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Rosemary BurkeDepartment of Pharmacy, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Ana W CapuanoRush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Sarah N HilmerKolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney and Northern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMedication review is integral in the pharmacological management of older inpatients.

objectiveTo assess the association of in-hospital medication changes with 28-day postdischarge clinical outcomes.

methodsRetrospective cohort of 2000 inpatients aged ≥75 years. Medication changes included the number of increases (medications started or dose-increased) and decreases (medications stopped or dose-decreased) for (i) all medications, (ii) Drug Burden Index (DBI)-contributing medications and (iii) Beers Criteria 2015 medications (potentially inappropriate medications, PIMs). Changes also included differences in (i) the number of medications, (ii) the number of PIMs and (iii) DBI score, at discharge versus admission. Associations with clinical outcomes (28-day ED visit, readmission and mortality) were ascertained using logistic regression, adjusted for age, gender and principal diagnosis. For mortality, sensitivity analysis excluded end-of-life patients due to higher death risk. Patients were stratified into : (i) ≤4, (ii) 5-9 and (iii) ≥10 discharge medications.

resultsThe mean age was 86 years (SD = 5.8), with 59.1% female. Medication changes reduced ED visits and readmission risk for patients prescribed five to nine discharge medications, with no associations in patients prescribed ≤4 and ≥ 10 medications. In the five to nine medications group, decreasing PIMs reduced risks of ED visit (adjusted odds ratio, aOR 0.55, 95% CI 0.34-0.91, P = .02) and readmission (aOR 0.62, 95% CI 0.38-0.99, P = .04). Decreasing DBI-contributing medications reduced readmission risk (aOR 0.71, 95% CI 0.51-0.99, P = .04). Differences in PIMs reduced ED visit risk (aOR 0.65, 95% CI 0.43-0.99, P = .04). There were no associations with mortality in sensitivity analyses in all groups. DISCUSSION: Medication changes were associated with reduced ED visits and readmission for patients prescribed five to nine discharge medications.

Indexed as

AgingInpatientsMedication ReconciliationAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsEmergency Service, HospitalFemaleHumansInappropriate PrescribingLogistic ModelsMaleOdds RatioPatient DischargePatient ReadmissionPolypharmacyclinical outcomesdeprescribinggeriatricsmedication reviewolder peoplepolypharmacy

Identifiers

PMID39895509
PMCPMC11788564

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Registered trials

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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.