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Inappropriate anticholinergic drugs prescriptions in older patients: analysing a hospital database

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Abstract

Background Although many anticholinergics are inappropriate in older patients, the prescription of these drugs in a hospital setting has not been extensively studied. Objective To describe prescriptions of anticholinergic drugs in terms of frequency, at risk situations and constipation in hospitalized, older adults. Setting Using a database from a French general hospital (period 2009–2013), we extracted information on 14,090 hospital stays by patients aged 75 and over. Methods Anticholinergic drug prescriptions were automatically detected, with a focus on prescriptions in three well-known at-risk situations: falls, dementia, and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Cases of constipation that might have been causally related to the administration of anticholinergic drugs were screened for and reviewed. Main outcome measure Prescriptions with a high associated risk of anticholinergic related adverse reactions. Results Administration of an anticholinergic drug was detected in 1412 (10.0%) of the hospital stays by older patients. At-risk situations were identified in 413 (36.5%) of these stays: 137 (9.7%) for falls, 243 (17.2%) for dementia, and 114 (8.1%) for benign prostatic hyperplasia; 78 (18.9%) of these 413 stays featured a combination of two or three at-risk situations. Cases of constipation induced by anticholinergic drug administration were identified in 188 (13.3%) patient stays by using validated adjudication rules for adverse drug reactions: 85 and 103 cases were respectively evaluated as “possible” or “probable” adverse drug reactions. Conclusions Anticholinergic drugs prescription was found in 10.0% of hospitalized, older patients. More than one third of these prescriptions occurred in at-risk situations and more than one in ten prescriptions induced constipation.

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Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank all the physicians who participated in the PSIP project in their respective departments, notably Dr. Pascale Leurs, Dr. Olivier Brimont, Dr. Zine Baarir, and Dr. Philippe Lecocq. We thank Professor Eric Boulanger for critically revising the manuscript. We thank Renaud Perichon and Julien Soula (health informatics engineers) for their valuable assistance.

Funding

This study was funded by the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM). The FRM did not influence study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation or presentation of the results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EA 2694 - Santé publique: épidémiologie et qualité des soins, Univ. Lille, 59000, Lile, France

    Laurie Ferret, Gregoire Ficheur, Emeline Delaviez, Sophie Quenton, Regis Beuscart, Emmanuel Chazard & Jean-Baptiste Beuscart

  2. Department of Medical Information and Archives, CHU Lille, 59000, Lille, France

    Gregoire Ficheur, Regis Beuscart & Emmanuel Chazard

  3. Department of Pharmacy, Denain General Hospital, Denain, France

    Michel Luyckx

  4. EA GRITA –Laboratoire de pharmacologie, pharmacocinétique et pharmacie clinique, Univ. Lille, 59000, Lille, France

    Michel Luyckx

  5. Department of Geriatrics, CHU Lille, 59000, Lille, France

    Jean-Baptiste Beuscart

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  1. Laurie Ferret
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  2. Gregoire Ficheur
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  3. Emeline Delaviez
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  8. Jean-Baptiste Beuscart
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Correspondence to Jean-Baptiste Beuscart.

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Ferret, L., Ficheur, G., Delaviez, E. et al. Inappropriate anticholinergic drugs prescriptions in older patients: analysing a hospital database. Int J Clin Pharm 40, 94–100 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-017-0554-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-017-0554-z

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