Drug-related hospital admissions among old people with dementia

• DOI: 10.1007/s00228-016-2084-3
• Publication Date: 2016-07-04T19:32:33Z
• Authors: Maria Gustafsson; Maria Sjölander; Bettina Pfister; Jeanette Jonsson; Jörn Schneede; Hugo Lövheim
• Keywords: Medical record

Drug treatment associated problems are common and are the cause of a large proportion of hospitalizations in old people. People with dementia are especially at risk of drug-related problems. The objectives of this study were to assess the occurrence and character of drug-related problems that lead to acute hospital admissions among old people (≥65 years) with dementia or cognitive impairment.This study was conducted in orthopedic and internal medicine wards in two hospitals in Northern Sweden. Information about acute admissions was collected from the medical records. A total of 458 people aged 65 years or older with dementia or cognitive impairment were included in the study. The contribution of drug-related problems to each hospitalization was assessed.Of 458 acute hospital admissions, 189 (41.3 %) were determined to be drug-related. The most common drug-related problem (86/189; 45.5 %) was an adverse drug reaction. In total, 264 drugs were judged to be involved in 189 drug-related admissions, of which cardiovascular (29.5 %) and psychotropic (26.9 %) drugs were the most commonly involved drug classes. The relationship between the drug-related problem and the admission was judged certain in 25 cases, probable in 78 cases, and possible in 86 cases. Drug-related admissions were more common among people taking more drugs (p = 0.035) and among younger patients (p = 0.031).Drug-related problems appear to be responsible for a major proportion of hospitalizations among old people with dementia or cognitive impairment. Targeted interventions such as education and medication reviews may be warranted to reduce drug-related problems.