Medication changes implemented during medication reviews and factors related to deprescribing: Posthoc analyses of a randomized clinical trial in geriatric outpatients with polypharmacy

Abstract

AimsTo provide posthoc analyses of a clinical trial that reported beneficial effects of medication reviews on health‐related quality of life. Specifically, to describe the medication changes with a focus on deprescribing and to explore patient‐ and medication‐related factors that may identify patients most likely to benefit from medication reviews.MethodsPosthoc analyses of data from a pragmatic, nonblinded, randomized clinical trial investigating a medication review intervention (NCT03911934) in 408 geriatric outpatients treated with ≥9 medicines.ResultsIn the medication review group (n = 196), 26% of the medicines prescribed at baseline were discontinued with 82% still being discontinued after 13 months. The most common reason for discontinuation was lack of indication (72% of discontinuations). The medicines most often discontinued in the medication review group compared with usual care included: metoclopramide (11/15 = 73% discontinued vs. 1/12 = 8% in usual care), acetylsalicylic acid (20/48 = 42% vs. 2/47 = 4%), simvastatin (18/48 = 38% vs. 2/58 = 3%), zopiclone (23/59 = 39% vs. 4/54 = 7%), quinine (9/14 = 64% vs. 6/16 = 38%), citalopram (4/18 = 22% vs. 0/20 = 0%) and tramadol (18/37 = 49% vs. 8/30 = 27%). Factors associated with number of deprescribed medicines included: number of prescribed medicines, Drug Burden Index, patient motivation for medicine changes, and prescriptions of metoclopramide, iron preparations, antidepressants other than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs, or drugs for urinary incontinence.ConclusionPhysician‐led medication reviews resulted in persistent deprescribing of medicines in older polypharmacy patients treated with ≥9 medicines. Motivation for having their medicine changed, treatment with more medicines, and a higher burden of sedative and anticholinergic medicines characterized the patients most likely to benefit from physician‐led medication reviews.