Adverse Outcomes in Relation to Polypharmacy in Robust and Frail Older Hospital Patients.

To explore the relationship between polypharmacy and adverse outcomes among older hospital inpatients stratified according to their frailty status. A prospective study of 1418 patients, aged 70 and older, admitted to 11 hospitals across Australia. The interRAI Acute Care (AC) assessment tool was used for all data collection, including the derivation of a frailty index calculated using the deficit accumulation method. Polypharmacy was categorized into 3 groups based on the number of regular drugs prescribed. Recorded adverse health outcomes were falls, delirium, functional and cognitive decline, discharge to a higher level of care and in-hospital mortality. Patients had a mean (SD) age of 81 (6.8) years and 55% were women. Polypharmacy (5-9 drugs per day) was observed in 48.2% (n = 684) and hyper-polypharmacy (≥10 drugs) in 35.0% (n = 497). Severe cognitive impairment was significantly associated with nonpolypharmacy compared with polypharmacy and hyper-polypharmacy groups combined (P = .004). In total, 591 (42.5%) patients experienced at least 1 adverse outcome. The only adverse outcome associated with polypharmacy was delirium. Within each polypharmacy category, frailty was associated with adverse outcomes and the lowest overall incidence was among robust patients prescribed 10 or more drugs. While polypharmacy may be a useful signal for medication review, in this study it was not an independent predictor of adverse outcomes for older inpatients. Assessing the frailty status of patients better appraised risk. Extensive de-prescribing in all older inpatients may not be an intervention that directly improves outcomes.

Poudel A ，Peel NM ，Nissen LM ，Mitchell CA ，Gray LC ，Hubbard RE ... -  《-》

Prevalence and impact of fall-risk-increasing drugs, polypharmacy, and drug-drug interactions in robust versus frail hospitalised falls patients: a prospective cohort study.

Bennett A ，Gnjidic D ，Gillett M ，Carroll P ，Matthews S ，Johnell K ，Fastbom J ，Hilmer S ... -  《-》

Frailty status at admission to hospital predicts multiple adverse outcomes.

frailty is proposed as a summative measure of health status and marker of individual vulnerability. We aimed to investigate the discriminative capacity of a frailty index (FI) derived from interRAI Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment for Acute Care (AC) in relation to multiple adverse inpatient outcomes. in this prospective cohort study, an FI was derived for 1,418 patients ≥70 years across 11 hospitals in Australia. The interRAI-AC was administered at admission and discharge by trained nurses, who also screened patients daily for geriatric syndromes. in adjusted logistic regression models an increase of 0.1 in FI was significantly associated with increased likelihood of length of stay >28 days (odds ratio [OR]: 1.29 [1.10-1.52]), new discharge to residential aged care (OR: 1.31 [1.10-1.57]), in-hospital falls (OR: 1.29 [1.10-1.50]), delirium (OR: 2.34 [2.08-2.63]), pressure ulcer incidence (OR: 1.51 [1.23-1.87]) and inpatient mortality (OR: 2.01 [1.66-2.42]). For each of these adverse outcomes, the cut-point at which optimal sensitivity and specificity occurred was for an FI > 0.40. Specificity was higher than sensitivity with positive predictive values of 7-52% and negative predictive values of 88-98%. FI-AC was not significantly associated with readmissions to hospital. the interRAI-AC can be used to derive a single score that predicts multiple adverse outcomes in older inpatients. A score of ≤0.40 can well discriminate patients who are unlikely to die or experience a geriatric syndrome. Whether the FI-AC can result in management decisions that improve outcomes requires further study.

Hubbard RE ，Peel NM ，Samanta M ，Gray LC ，Mitnitski A ，Rockwood K ... -  《-》

Prescribing in the oldest old inpatients: a retrospective analysis of patients referred for specialist geriatric consultation.

Ilango S ，Pillans P ，Peel NM ，Scott I ，Gray LC ，Hubbard RE ... -  《-》

Frailty and Geriatric Syndromes in Vascular Surgical Ward Patients.

Preoperative frailty is an important predictor of poor outcomes but the relationship between frailty and geriatric syndromes is less clear. The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence of frailty and incidence of geriatric syndromes in a cohort of older vascular surgical ward patients, and investigate the association of frailty and other key risk factors with the occurrence of one or more geriatric syndromes (delirium, functional decline, falls, and/or pressure ulcers) and two hospital outcomes (acute length of stay and discharge destination). This prospective cohort study was conducted in a vascular surgical ward in a tertiary teaching hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Consecutive patients aged ≥65 years, admitted for ≥72 hr, were eligible for inclusion. Frailty was defined as one or more of functional dependency, cognitive impairment, or nutritional impairment at admission. Delirium was identified using the Confusion Assessment Method and a validated chart extraction tool. Functional decline from admission to discharge was identified from daily nursing documentation of activities of daily living. Falls were identified according to documentation in the medical record cross-checked with the incident reporting system. Pressure ulcers, acute length of stay, and discharge destination were identified by documentation in the medical record. Risk factors associated with geriatric syndromes, acute length of stay, and discharge destination were assessed using multivariable logistic regression models. Of 110 participants, 43 (39%) patients were frail and geriatric syndromes occurred in 40 (36%). Functional decline occurred in 25% of participants, followed by delirium (20%), pressure ulcers (12%), and falls (4%). In multivariable logistic analysis, frailty [odds ratio (OR) 6.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0-22.1, P = 0.002], nonelective admission (OR 7.2, 95% CI 2.2-25.3, P = 0.002), higher physiological severity (OR 5.5, 95% CI 1.1-26.8, P = 0.03), and operative severity (OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.2-17.7, P = 0.03) increased the likelihood of any geriatric syndrome. Frailty was an important predictor of longer length of stay (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.0-6.8, P = 0.06) and discharge destination (OR 4.2, 95% CI 1.2-13.8, P = 0.02). Nonelective admission significantly increased the likelihood of discharge to a higher level of care (OR 5.3, 95% CI 1.3-21.6, P = 0.02). Frailty and geriatric syndromes were common in elderly vascular surgical ward patients. Frail patients and nonelective admissions were more likely to develop geriatric syndromes, have a longer length of stay, and be discharged to a higher level of care.

McRae PJ ，Walker PJ ，Peel NM ，Hobson D ，Parsonson F ，Donovan P ，Reade MC ，Marquart L ，Mudge AM ... -  《-》