Prevalence and Preventability of Adverse Medicine Events in a Sample of Australian Aged-Care Residents: A Secondary Analysis of Data from the ReMInDAR Trial

Prevalence and Preventability of Adverse Medicine Events in a Sample of Australian Aged-Care Residents: A Secondary Analysis of Data from the ReMInDAR Trial

Background Aged care residents are vulnerable to the harmful effects of medicines; however, data on the prevalence and preventability of adverse medicine events in aged care residents are scarce. Aim To determine the prevalence and preventability of adverse medicine events in Australian aged care re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Drug safety Vol. 46; no. 5; pp. 493 - 500
Main Authors: Kalisch Ellett, Lisa M., Dorj, Gerel, Andrade, Andre Q., Bilton, Rebecca L., Rowett, Debra, Whitehouse, Joseph, Lim, Renly, Pratt, Nicole L., Kelly, Thu-Lan, Parameswaran Nair, Nibu, Bereznicki, Luke, Widagdo, Imaina, Roughead, Elizabeth E.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-05-2023
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Adverse events
Aged
Australia - epidemiology
Bleeding
Criteria
Data analysis
Delirium
Drug dosages
Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance
Drug stores
Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions - epidemiology
Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions - prevention & control
Elder care
Hemorrhage - chemically induced
Humans
Medical errors
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Older people
Original
Original Research Article
Pharmacology/Toxicology
Prevalence
Secondary analysis
Systematic review
Australia
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Summary:Background Aged care residents are vulnerable to the harmful effects of medicines; however, data on the prevalence and preventability of adverse medicine events in aged care residents are scarce. Aim To determine the prevalence and preventability of adverse medicine events in Australian aged care residents. Methods A secondary analysis of data from the Reducing Medicine-Induced Deterioration and Adverse Reactions (ReMInDAR) trial was conducted. Potential adverse medicine events were identified and independently screened by two research pharmacists to produce a short-list of potential adverse medicine events. An expert clinical panel reviewed each potential adverse medicine to determine the likelihood that the event was medicine related (based on the Naranjo Probability Scale criteria). The clinical panel assessed preventability of medicine-related events using Schumock-Thornton criteria. Results There were 583 adverse events due to medicines, involving 154 residents (62% of the 248 study participants). There was a median of three medication-related adverse events (interquartile range [IQR] 1–5) per resident over the 12-month follow-up period. The most common medication-related adverse events were falls (56%), bleeding (18%) and bruising (9%). There were 482 (83%) medication-related adverse events that were preventable, most commonly falls (66% of preventable adverse medicine events), bleeding (12%) and dizziness (8%). Of the 248 residents, 133 (54% of the cohort) had at least one preventable adverse medicine event, with a median of 2 (IQR 1–4) preventable adverse medicine events per resident. Conclusion In total, 62% of aged care residents in our study had an adverse medicine event and 54% had a preventable adverse medicine event in a 12-month period.
ISSN:0114-5916
1179-1942
DOI:10.1007/s40264-023-01299-z