| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3324284 | European Geriatric Medicine | 2012 | 4 Pages |
PurposePotentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use is highly prevalent among the elderly and is associated with an increase in adverse drug reactions. The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of PIM use and the time needed for PIM detection using the FBC and IPET among elderly patients admitted to a French geriatric hospital.MethodFor 2 months, all prescriptions of 150 patients age 75 and older and admitted at the Charpennes hospital were analyzed by pharmacists using both PIM screening tools.ResultsThe mean age was 85.9 ± 5.6 years (female: 96/150). Among the 1140 medications prescribed, 40 PIMs (3.5%) were detected with the FBC, and 15 (1.3%) with the IPET (P < 0.001). These tools allowed for the identification of 40 patients (26.7%) taking PIMs. The most common class of PIMs detected was psychotropics. The average time required for PIM use detection per patient was 3 ± 3.3 minutes with the FBC, and 2.9 ± 3.2 minutes with the IPET (P = 0.4). However, the overall time required for clinical data collection was 62.7 minutes (eight patients) for the FBC, and 250.7 minutes (46 patients) for the IPET.DiscussionAlthough the IPET use seems attractive because of its small number of criteria, the time required for its use by pharmacists is as high as that of the FBC because of the more frequent need for clinical data collection in wards.ConclusionIn our hospital, the IPET detected a lower number of PIMs than the FBC during the same overall time.
