| Abstrakt: |
Aims and methodTo explore the use of the STOPP/START toolkit in older psychiatric in-patients with dementia. Clinical records and current drug charts were reviewed against STOPP/START criteria for all in-patients (n= 86) on six specialist dementia wards.ResultsBenzodiazepines, antipsychotics and opiates were most commonly prescribed inappropriately. The most common unprescribed medication groups were statins, calcium supplements and vitamin D supplements. There was an overall reduction of 7% in comorbidities and 8% in the number of prescriptions. t-test showed a significant drop in average comorbidities between both audits, t(1) = 23.920, P= 0.027, and in average prescriptions per patient, t(1) = 28.808, P= 0.022. There was no difference in the number of patients receiving polypharmacy, t(1) = 7.500, P= 0.084, or receiving medication with a high risk of adverse drug reactions, t(1) = 6.857, P= 0.092.Clinical implicationsThe STOPP/START toolkit highlighted the importance of collaborative working between doctors, clinical pharmacists and nursing staff, and could provide old age psychiatrists with a structured tool to identify inappropriate prescribing of non-psychiatric medications.Declaration of interestsNone. |
