Annemie Somers

Impact of computerized physician order entry on medication prescription errors in the intensive care unit: a controlled cross-sectional trial

IntroductionMedication errors in the intensive care unit (ICU) are frequent and lead to attributable patient morbidity and mortality, increased length of ICU stay and substantial extra costs. We investigated if the introduction of a computerized ICU system (Centricity Critical Care Clinisoft, GE Healthcare) reduced the incidence and severity of medication prescription errors (MPEs).MethodsA prospective trial was conducted in a paper-based unit (PB-U) versus a computerized unit (C-U) in a 22-bed ICU of a tertiary university hospital. Every medication order and medication prescription error was validated by a clinical pharmacist. The registration of different classes of MPE was done according to the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention guidelines. An independent panel evaluated the severity of MPEs. We identified three groups: minor MPEs (no potential to cause harm); intercepted MPEs (potential to cause harm but intercepted on time); and serious MPEs (non-intercepted potential adverse drug events (ADE) or ADEs, being MPEs with potential to cause, or actually causing, patient harm).ResultsThe C-U and the PB-U each contained 80 patient-days, and a total of 2,510 medication prescriptions were evaluated. The clinical pharmacist identified 375 MPEs. The incidence of MPEs was significantly lower in the C-U compared with the PB-U (44/1286 (3.4%) versus 331/1224 (27.0%); P < 0.001). There were significantly less minor MPEs in the C-U than in the PB-U (9 versus 225; P < 0.001). Intercepted MPEs were also lower in the C-U (12 versus 46; P < 0.001), as well as the non-intercepted potential ADEs (21 versus 48; P < 0.001). There was also a reduction of ADEs (2 in the C-U versus 12 in the PB-U; P < 0.01). No fatal errors occurred. The most frequent drug classes involved were cardiovascular medication and antibiotics in both groups. Patients with renal failure experienced less dosing errors in the C-U versus the PB-U (12 versus 35 serious MPEs; P < 0.001).ConclusionThe ICU computerization, including the medication order entry, resulted in a significant decrease in the occurrence and severity of medication errors in the ICU.

Evaluation of clinical pharmacist recommendations in the geriatric ward of a Belgian university hospital

Objective To evaluate the type, acceptance rate, and clinical relevance of clinical pharmacist recommendations at the geriatric ward of the Ghent university hospital. Methods The clinical pharmacist evaluated drug use during a weekly 2-hour visit for a period of 4 months and, if needed, made recommendations to the prescribing physician. The recommendations were classified according to type, acceptance by the physician, prescribed medication, and underlying drug-related problem. Appropriateness of prescribing was assessed using the Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI) before and after the recommendations were made. Two clinical pharmacologists and two clinical pharmacists independently and retrospectively evaluated the clinical relevance of the recommendations and rated their own acceptance of them. Results The clinical pharmacist recommended 304 drug therapy changes for 100 patients taking a total of 1137 drugs. The most common underlying drug-related problems concerned incorrect dose, drug–drug interaction, and adverse drug reaction, which appeared most frequently for cardiovascular drugs, drugs for the central nervous system, and drugs for the gastrointestinal tract. The most common type of recommendation concerned adapting the dose, and stopping or changing a drug. In total, 59.7% of the recommendations were accepted by the treating physician. The acceptance rate by the evaluators ranged between 92.4% and 97.0%. The mean clinical relevance of the recommendations was assessed as possibly important (53.4%), possibly low relevance (38.1%), and possibly very important (4.2%). A low interrater agreement concerning clinical relevance between the evaluators was found: kappa values ranged between 0.15 and 0.25. Summated MAI scores significantly improved after the pharmacist recommendations, with mean values decreasing from 9.3 to 6.2 (P < 0.001). Conclusion In this study, the clinical pharmacist identified a high number of potential drug-related problems in older patients; however, the acceptance of the pharmacotherapy recommendations by the treating physician was lower than by a panel of evaluators. This panel, however, rated most recommendations as possibly important and as possibly having low relevance, with low interrater reliability. As the appropriateness of prescribing seemed to improve with decreased MAI scores, clinical pharmacy services may contribute to the optimization of drug therapy in older inpatients.

Prevalence of orthostatic hypotension and relationship with drug use amongst older patients

Abstract Introduction: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is said to be highly prevalent in older people. Drugs are often involved as causative factor. Nevertheless, few data are available about the prevalence of OH and its relationship with drugs in olders. Objectives: To review data about (i) the prevalence and characteristics of OH in older patients; and (ii) the relationship between OH and drugs. Methods: Review of publications from Ovid (Pub-Med) from 1980 to May 2011 using the following key words: “orthostatic hypotension” combined with “elderly” or equivalent for the analysis of prevalence (first search) and “orthostatic hypotension” combined with “drugs” or equivalent to assess the relationship between OH and drugs (second search). Results: Fifty-one publications (of which 14 with original data) were retrieved from the prevalence search, 31 for the second search (8 with original data: 7 retrospective studies and 1 prospective cohort study) and 12 reviews or experts opinions. Prevalence of OH varies according to the characteristics of the subjects, the settings of the studies, and the procedures of blood pressure measurement. In acute geriatrics units, two studies reported a prevalence of over 30% and one study mentioned that 68% of the patients presented with at least one episode during the day. OH was associated with several geriatric problems: gait disorders, balance disorders, falls, cerebral hypoperfusion, transient ischemic attacks, cognitive impairment, acute myocardial infarct and systolic hypertension. OH can also be asymptomatic or with atypical presentation: falls, gait disorders and confusion. Psychotropic agents (antipsychotics, sedatives, antidepressants), and cardiovascular drugs (antihypertensive agents, vasodilators, diuretics) were associated with OH. Discussion: If the hypothesis of causality between drug treatment and OH is confirmed, the identification of the involved drugs could be of value for the prevention of OH and its complications. In this context, the Working Group Pharmacology Pharmacotherapy and Pharmaceutical Care of the Belgian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics proposes to conduct a multicentre study to assess the prevalence of OH in Belgian acute geriatrics units and its relationship with drugs.

Applicability of an adapted medication appropriateness index for detection of drug-related problems in geriatric inpatients.

BACKGROUND High drug consumption by older patients and the presence of many drug-related problems require careful assessment of drug therapy, for which a structured approach is recommended. OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to evaluate the applicability of an adapted version of the Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI) in 50 geriatric inpatients at the time of admission. METHODS We reviewed, for 432 prescribed drugs, indication, right choice, dosage, directions, drug-disease interactions, drug-drug interactions, and duration of therapy. In addition, adverse drug reactions were evaluated, resulting in 8 questions per drug. MAI scores were attributed independently by a geriatrician and by a clinical pharmacist, and differences between them were assessed. Furthermore, the relationship between MAI score and drug-related hospital admission was explored. RESULTS Mean summed MAI scores of 13.7 according to the geriatrician and 13.6 according to the pharmacist were obtained. The highest scores were found for drugs for the central nervous and the urinary tract system; the highest scores per question were detected for right choice, adverse drug reactions, and drug-drug interactions. A good agreement between the scores of the geriatrician and the pharmacist was found: intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.91 and overall κ value was 0.71. A significantly higher MAI score was found for drug-related hospital admissions (P = 0.04 for the geriatrician and P = 0.03 for the pharmacist). CONCLUSIONS This adapted MAI score seems useful for detection of drug-related problems in geriatric inpatients and reliable with a low inter-rater variability and positive correlation between high score and drug-related hospital admission. We consider further application of the adapted MAI for teaching and training of clinical pharmacists, and as a systematic approach for detection of drug-related problems by the clinical pharmacists in our hospital.

Optimization of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy: Role of Multifaceted Cooperation in the Hospital Setting

Because older patients are more vulnerable to adverse drug-related events, there is a need to ensure appropriate pharmacotherapy in these patients. This narrative review describes approaches to improve pharmacotherapy in older people in the hospital setting. Screening to identify older patients at risk of drug-related problems and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is the first critical step within a multistep approach to geriatric pharmacotherapy. Two methods that have been developed are the GerontoNet ADR risk score and the Brighton Adverse Drug Reactions Risk (BADRI) model, which take into account a number of factors, the most important of which is the number of medicines. In order to reduce potentially inappropriate prescribing in older patients, different types of interventions exist, such as pharmacist-led medication reviews, educational interventions, computerized decision support systems, and comprehensive geriatric assessment. The effects of these interventions have been studied, sometimes in a multifaceted approach, by combining different techniques. None of the existing interventions shows a clear beneficial effect on patients’ health outcomes if applied in isolation; however, when these interventions are combined within the context of a multidisciplinary team, positive effects on patients’ health outcomes can be expected. Appropriate geriatric pharmacotherapy, global assessment of patients’ clinical and functional parameters, and integration of skills from different healthcare professionals are needed to address medical complexity of older adults.

Older patients' prescriptions screening in the community pharmacy: development of the Ghent Older People's Prescriptions community Pharmacy Screening (GheOP³S) tool

BACKGROUND Ageing of the population often leads to polypharmacy. Consequently, potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) becomes more frequent. Systematic screening for PIP in older patients in primary care could yield a large improvement in health outcomes, possibly an important task for community pharmacists. In this article, we develop an explicit screening tool to detect relevant PIP that can be used in the typical community pharmacy practice, adapted to the European market. METHODS Eleven panellists participated in a two-round RAND/UCLA (Research and Development/University of California, Los Angeles) process, including a round zero meeting, a literature review, a first written evaluation round, a second face-to-face evaluation round and, finally, a selection of those items that are applicable in the contemporary community pharmacy. RESULTS Eighteen published lists of PIP for older patients were retrieved from the literature, mentioning 398 different items. After the two-round RAND/UCLA process, 99 clinically relevant items were considered suitable to screen for in a community pharmacy practice. A panel of seven community pharmacists selected 83 items, feasible in the contemporary community pharmacy practice, defining the final GheOP³S tool. CONCLUSION A novel explicit screening tool (GheOP³S) was developed to be used for PIP screening in the typical community pharmacy practice.

THE USE OF HYPNOSEDATIVE DRUGS IN A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SETTING

Abstract Objective: The use of hypnosedatives (HSs) in the hospital and at home before admission was registered. Also, the incidence of HSs newly started in the hospital and the incidence of withdrawal in chronic users while in hospital was recorded. Methods: The study population consisted of 517 consecutively adimitted patients recruited from 10 wards of the Ghent University Hospital; 493 of them received a questionnaire and were interviewed concerning the use of HSs at home and in the hospital, about the cause and duration of treatment, the type of HSs used, the presence and nature of any concomitant sleep or anxiety disorder. Main outcome measures were the actual use of HSs during hospitalisation as compared with the reported use, the influence of hospitalisation on use of HSs and the assessment of cause and duration of use of HSs. Results: Twenty-nine percent of the study sample took HSs at home and 45.2% while in the hospital. HSs were prescribed to 28.6% of the patients not habituated to chronic use of HSs at home. In contrast, 14.0% of the patients habituated to chronic use of HSs received no sleep medication while in hospital. Patients older than 60 years used more HSs than younger patients. Previous administration of HSs, sleep problems during hospital admission and female sex were predictive of HSuse. The main reason for prescription of HSs in the hospital was continuation of HSs taken at home. The most prescribed HSs were: lormetazepam, lorazepam, alprazolam, diazepam and zolpidem. Almost 10% of the patients were not informed on treatment with HSs. Among the subjects in whom HSs were newly started, 16.0% intended to continue this medication after discharge. Eleven percent took combinations of hypnosedative drugs. Conclusions: The prevalence of prescription of HSs in the university hospital setting is high. Appropriate guidelines are needed to control the use of HSs during hospitalisation and to ensure withdrawal from these drugs upon discharge.

Organization of the medication management process in Belgian nursing homes

BACKGROUND With the increase of the proportion of old (>80 years), frail people living in long-term care settings, concern about the quality of medication management processes in nursing homes is growing. OBJECTIVES To characterize the organization of medication management processes in Belgian nursing homes. METHOD This cross-sectional, observational study of a representative sample of 76 Belgian nursing homes was performed in November and December 2005. The results are based on structured interviews that were conducted with 76 facility directors and 112 head nurses, using 2 questionnaires. RESULTS A self-reporting medication error system was set up in 69.7% of the nursing homes. Almost all nursing homes had a therapeutic drug formulary, but its use was not compulsory. Medications were mainly delivered from a community pharmacy (82.9%). The role of the pharmacist was often restricted to mere delivery of medications. Medications were not always administered by nurses, but also by care aides (67%) or nursing students (12.5%). The practice of postscription (i.e., prescribing medication after it has been dispensed by the pharmacist) was also found to be quite common (69.9%). CONCLUSION This study provides a detailed description of the organization of medication management processes in Belgian nursing homes. Based on these results, problem areas can be identified and, consequently, targeted improvement actions can be investigated and implemented.

The use of hypnosedative drugs in a university hospital: has anything changed in 10 years?

AimOur goal was to investigate the use of hypnosedatives (HSs) before and during hospitalization, explore the relationship between their use and various demographic and clinical variables, and compare the results with data from a similar 2000 study with particular interest in adherence to hospital formulary guidelines.MethodsA cross-sectional observational survey of 326 hospitalized patients recruited from ten wards of the Ghent University Hospital, Gent, Belgium, with a patient interview and by evaluating medical and nursing files.ResultsIn 30.7% of patients, the use of a HS before admission was reported. According to the patient interview, 33.1% used a HS during hospitalization. However, according to medical and nursing files, use of HSs in the hospital was 10% higher (43.3%). In 19.4% of patients who took HSs before admission, their use was discontinued in the hospital. In 15.6% of patients who took no HS before admission, a HS was started in the hospital, according to the formulary guidelines (data from files). There was a positive correlation between HS use in the hospital and older age, longer hospitalization, not coming from home, higher number of HSs taken before hospitalization, sleeping problems emerging during hospitalization, and central nervous system (CNS) disorders. In comparison with 2000, we registered a slight decrease in HS use during hospitalization and a decrease in the number of newly started patients.ConclusionsThe prevalence of HS use in our university hospital is high, mostly as a result of continuation of HSs started before admission, as there seems to be no general policy of active cessation. Compared with the survey performed 10 years ago, fewer hospitalized patients are newly started on HSs, and when this is the case, the formulary guidelines are followed.

Evaluation of human albumin use in a university hospital in Belgium

In 1996 — 1997, a drug use evaluation )DUE) of human albumin was conducted in the Ghent University Hospital )Belgium) to determine the pattern and appropriateness of the albumin use. The DUE was followed by permanent review of the albumin consumption. This paper describes how the DUE was carried out and how the albumin use in our hospital changed over time.Method: The study was based on criteria for indications and end of treatment, accepted by consensus of the physicians prescribing albumin. Albumin treatment episodes were classified as appropriate or inappropriate according to these criteria.Results: For 115 treatment episodes in 90 patients, the researchers found 21 )18.3%) deviations from the developed criteria. After analysis, half out of them were considered as minor. Most deviations involved starting treatment too early )n = 17). Follow-up results indicated that the overall consumption of albumin dropped by 50.1% from 1994 to 1999, while the consumption of colloid solutions during the same period remained stable.Conclusion: A good compliance with internally developed criteria for indications and end of treatment with human albumin was observed. Discussion with the clinicians involved led to the development of stricter criteria and a continuous decrease in albumin consumption.