OPTImization of Medication by Transdisciplinary Assessment of Drug Treatment in Elderly Hospitalized Patients

Polypharmacy Clinical Trial

— OPTIMATE  

Official title:

OPTImization of Medication by Transdisciplinary Assessment of Drug Treatment in Elderly Hospitalized Patients: Application of a Definitive Intervention by Physicians or Clinical Pharmacists

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05387096
• Other study ID #: DIFA-2020-024
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 17, 2023
• Est. completion date: September 30, 2024

Study information

• Verified date: February 2024
• Source: University College Cork
• Contact: Denis O'Mahony, Professor
• Phone: 00 353 21 4922396
• Email: denis.omahony[@]ucc.ie
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study is being done to find out if a multi-faceted intervention designed to optimize medication in hospitalized older people with multiple chronic medical conditions exposed to multiple medications can reduce unplanned hospital readmission and emergency department attendance compared to current usual medication management. The study intervention aims to minimize potentially inappropriate medications in a structured way and involves follow up with patients and GPs. Patients will be allocated equally to (i) standard medication management (control arm) or (ii) trained physician-delivered intervention or (iii) clinical pharmacist-delivered intervention.

Description:

Background:

Recurrent hospitalization and unplanned emergency department (ED) attendance resulting from potentially inappropriate medication is an increasingly common phenomenon in older people with multi-morbidity and associated polypharmacy. With a growing older population with multi-morbidity/polypharmacy, there is a pressing need to address the increasing challenge of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) and associated problems that accentuate adverse drug reactions/events and avoidable excess morbidity. There is also an imperative to curb excess healthcare expenditure related to preventable medication-related problems.

Objective:

To test the clinical and economic impact of a multi-faceted medication optimization definitive intervention on avoidable rehospitalization and unscheduled ED attendance in multi-morbid patients aged ≥ 70 years hospitalized with acute illness.To test the clinical and economic impact of a multi-faceted medication optimization definitive intervention (DI) on avoidable rehospitalization and unscheduled ED attendance in multi-morbid patients aged ≥ 70 years hospitalized with acute illness.

Design:

A randomized controlled clinical trial is proposed in which it is anticipated to randomize 3 x 463 patients to one of 3 groups: (a) standard pharmaceutical care, or (b) trained physician-implemented DI, or (c) clinical pharmacist-implemented DI.

Setting: Acute care environment in 3 large tertiary referral teaching hospitals with similar custom and practice relating to management of older people with acute illness.

Participants: Patients aged ≥ 70 years with multi-morbid illness i.e. ≥ 3 chronic medical conditions and associated polypharmacy i.e. ≥ 5 daily prescription medications admitted with acute unselected illness.

Intervention:

The definitive multi-faceted intervention will consist of the following components:modified structured history of medication (SHiM), Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions (STOPP) and Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment (START) screening for PIMs and PPOs using STOPP/START version 3.0, drug-drug interaction screening using Stockley's Drug Interaction Checker, face-to-face consultation with attending hospital physicians to discuss PIMs, PPOs, interactions and other issues, pre-discharge medication review and adjustment, detailed medication adjustment discharge report to patients' general practitioners (GPs), post-discharge follow-up contact with patients' GPs and community pharmacists at 1 week and 1 and 3-6 months post-discharge.

Study Population:

OPTIMATE will focus on patients admitted with acute medical or surgical illness to Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Waterford and Ghent University Hospital. Patients to be screened for enrolment are those admitted primarily under the care of specialist departments other than geriatric medicine.

Data Collection:

All OPTIMATE trial data will be collected electronically and entered on a bespoke trial proforma. Once verified as fully correct and complete, all individual participant trial data will be stored on a fully secure clinical trial database.

Statistical Analysis:

Treatment effects for each of the two active intervention arms (versus control) in terms of binary outcomes (e.g. readmission) will be estimated using logistic regression, while Health Related QoL (EQ-5D 5L) will be analyzed using ordinal regression with a logit link function (i.e. a proportional odds model). We will report two models for each outcome: one adjusted for centre and admitting service type; and another further adjusted for centre, age (years), sex, number of comorbidities at baseline, and number of prescribed medications at baseline. Effect estimates will be reported as odds-ratios with 95% confidence intervals and exact p-values. There will be no correction for multiplicity, but we will report results for all outcomes regardless of the result and provide enough information for the reader to make whatever corrections they may consider appropriate. Equivalence tests comparing the two active arms (for each outcome) will be done using a "two one-sided tests" procedure based on a 90% confidence interval (which equates to a 5% type 1 error rate). All analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis and will be conducted under the quality system and SOPs of the HRB CRF-C Statistics and Data Analysis Unit. A complete statistical analysis plan (SAP) will be pre-registered on the Open Science Framework prior to patient recruitment database lock. Any necessary deviations from this SAP will be documented and explained in the trial report. There will be only one single trial data analysis at the end of the project. All reporting will be carried out in accordance with CONSORT guidelines for clinical trials.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 1389
• Est. completion date: September 30, 2024
• Est. primary completion date: June 28, 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 70 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age = 70years

2. 3 or more chronic conditions.

3. = 5 daily medications pre-admission, all medications taken for at least 4 weeks continuously.

4. Can speak and understand English (in the two Irish medical centres), and Dutch or French in Ghent University Hospital (Ghent is predominantly Dutch-speaking).

5. Can give informed consent or give witnessed verbal consent or have a suitable proxy who can give informed assent on the patient's behalf.

6. Agrees to follow-up contact post-discharge up to 180 days post-randomization.

7. Agrees to primary researcher contacting the GP and community pharmacist post-discharge.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Terminal illness.

2. Severe dementia and clearly unable to understand the purpose of the trial or give consent to participation.

3. Severe communication disorder, making informed consent impossible.

4. Likely to be discharged from hospital within 48 hours of arrival.

5. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission.

6. Primary psychiatric presenting illness.

7. Unavailable for post-discharge follow-up for any reason.

8. Non-accidental poisoning.

9. Previous participation in medication optimization trials.

10. Active participation in another clinical trial

11. Infectious illness requiring strict isolation (including COVID-19 infection) blocking access of the primary researcher to the patient for enrolment.

12. End-stage renal, liver or lung disease requiring organ replacement therapy.

13. Admitted under the care of specialists in Clinical Pharmacology, Palliative Medicine, Clinical Oncology or Haematology.

14. Admitted under the care of specialists in Geriatric Medicine in Ghent University Hospital.

15. Trial participation refusal.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Multimorbidity
• Polypharmacy

Intervention

Other:
• Definitive multi-faceted intervention consisting of several components
The definitive intervention will consist of the following components: structured history of medication (SHiM), Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions (STOPP) and Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment (START) screening for PIMs and PPOs, drug-drug and drug-disease interactions screening, face-to-face consultation with attending hospital physicians to discuss PIMs, PPOs, interactions and other issues, pre-discharge medication review and adjustment, detailed medication adjustment discharge report to patients' general practitioners (GPs), post-discharge follow-up contact with patients' GPs and community pharmacists at 1 week, 1 month and 3-6 months post -discharge. The interventions will be applied by a trained physician or pharmacist.
• Sham Intervention
Sham intervention in the form of the modified Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) questionnaire in addition to standard care.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Belgium	Ghent University Hospital	Gent
Ireland	Cork University Hospital	Cork
Ireland	University Hospital Waterford	Waterford

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University College Cork	University Hospital Waterford, University Hospital, Ghent

Countries where clinical trial is conducted

Belgium,  Ireland, 

References & Publications (26)

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Blum MR, Sallevelt BTGM, Spinewine A, O'Mahony D, Moutzouri E, Feller M, Baumgartner C, Roumet M, Jungo KT, Schwab N, Bretagne L, Beglinger S, Aubert CE, Wilting I, Thevelin S, Murphy K, Huibers CJA, Drenth-van Maanen AC, Boland B, Crowley E, Eichenberger A, Meulendijk M, Jennings E, Adam L, Roos MJ, Gleeson L, Shen Z, Marien S, Meinders AJ, Baretella O, Netzer S, de Montmollin M, Fournier A, Mouzon A, O'Mahony C, Aujesky D, Mavridis D, Byrne S, Jansen PAF, Schwenkglenks M, Spruit M, Dalleur O, Knol W, Trelle S, Rodondi N. Optimizing Therapy to Prevent Avoidable Hospital Admissions in Multimorbid Older Adults (OPERAM): cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2021 Jul 13;374:n1585. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n1585. Erratum In: BMJ. 2022 Dec 1;379:o2859. — View Citation

Cardwell K. Reducing medication errors and transitions of care. Age Ageing. 2020 Jul 1;49(4):537-539. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa065. No abstract available. — View Citation

Cullinan S, O'Mahony D, Byrne S. Application of the structured history taking of medication use tool to optimise prescribing for older patients and reduce adverse events. Int J Clin Pharm. 2016 Apr;38(2):374-9. doi: 10.1007/s11096-016-0254-0. Epub 2016 Jan 21. — View Citation

Dalton K, O'Mahony D, O'Sullivan D, O'Connor MN, Byrne S. Prescriber Implementation of STOPP/START Recommendations for Hospitalised Older Adults: A Comparison of a Pharmacist Approach and a Physician Approach. Drugs Aging. 2019 Mar;36(3):279-288. doi: 10.1007/s40266-018-0627-2. — View Citation

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El Morabet N, Uitvlugt EB, van den Bemt BJF, van den Bemt PMLA, Janssen MJA, Karapinar-Carkit F. Prevalence and Preventability of Drug-Related Hospital Readmissions: A Systematic Review. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018 Mar;66(3):602-608. doi: 10.1111/jgs.15244. Epub 2018 Feb 22. — View Citation

Hyttinen V, Jyrkka J, Valtonen H. A Systematic Review of the Impact of Potentially Inappropriate Medication on Health Care Utilization and Costs Among Older Adults. Med Care. 2016 Oct;54(10):950-64. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000587. — View Citation

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Kuhn-Thiel AM, Weiss C, Wehling M; FORTA authors/expert panel members. Consensus validation of the FORTA (Fit fOR The Aged) List: a clinical tool for increasing the appropriateness of pharmacotherapy in the elderly. Drugs Aging. 2014 Feb;31(2):131-40. doi: 10.1007/s40266-013-0146-0. — View Citation

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Lavan A, Eustace J, Dahly D, Flanagan E, Gallagher P, Cullinane S, Petrovic M, Perehudoff K, Gudmondsson A, Samuelsson O, Sverrisdottir A, Cherubin A, Dimitri F, Rimland J, Cruz-Jentoft A, Velez-Diaz-Pallares M, Lozano Montoya I, Soiza RL, Subbarayan S, O'Mahony D. Incident adverse drug reactions in geriatric inpatients: a multicentred observational study. Ther Adv Drug Saf. 2018 Jan;9(1):13-23. doi: 10.1177/2042098617736191. Epub 2017 Oct 24. — View Citation

Leendertse AJ, Van Den Bemt PM, Poolman JB, Stoker LJ, Egberts AC, Postma MJ. Preventable hospital admissions related to medication (HARM): cost analysis of the HARM study. Value Health. 2011 Jan;14(1):34-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2010.10.024. — View Citation

McAuliffe LH, Zullo AR, Dapaah-Afriyie R, Berard-Collins C. Development and validation of a transitions-of-care pharmacist tool to predict potentially avoidable 30-day readmissions. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2018 Feb 1;75(3):111-119. doi: 10.2146/ajhp170184. — View Citation

Moriarty F, Bennett K, Cahir C, Kenny RA, Fahey T. Potentially inappropriate prescribing according to STOPP and START and adverse outcomes in community-dwelling older people: a prospective cohort study. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2016 Sep;82(3):849-57. doi: 10.1111/bcp.12995. Epub 2016 Jun 9. — View Citation

O'Brien GL, O'Mahony D, Gillespie P, Mulcahy M, Walshe V, O'Connor MN, O'Sullivan D, Gallagher J, Byrne S. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of a Physician-Implemented Medication Screening Tool in Older Hospitalised Patients in Ireland. Drugs Aging. 2018 Aug;35(8):751-762. doi: 10.1007/s40266-018-0564-0. — View Citation

O'Connor MN, O'Sullivan D, Gallagher PF, Eustace J, Byrne S, O'Mahony D. Prevention of Hospital-Acquired Adverse Drug Reactions in Older People Using Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions and Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment Criteria: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016 Aug;64(8):1558-66. doi: 10.1111/jgs.14312. Epub 2016 Jul 1. — View Citation

O'Mahony D, Gudmundsson A, Soiza RL, Petrovic M, Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Cherubini A, Fordham R, Byrne S, Dahly D, Gallagher P, Lavan A, Curtin D, Dalton K, Cullinan S, Flanagan E, Shiely F, Samuelsson O, Sverrisdottir A, Subbarayan S, Vandaele L, Meireson E, Montero-Errasquin B, Rexach-Cano A, Correa Perez A, Lozano-Montoya I, Velez-Diaz-Pallares M, Cerenzia A, Corradi S, Soledad Cotorruelo Ferreiro M, Dimitri F, Marinelli P, Martelli G, Fong Soe Khioe R, Eustace J. Prevention of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized older patients with multi-morbidity and polypharmacy: the SENATOR* randomized controlled clinical trial. Age Ageing. 2020 Jul 1;49(4):605-614. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa072. Erratum In: Age Ageing. 2021 Nov 10;50(6):e10-e11. — View Citation

O'Mahony D, O'Sullivan D, Byrne S, O'Connor MN, Ryan C, Gallagher P. STOPP/START criteria for potentially inappropriate prescribing in older people: version 2. Age Ageing. 2015 Mar;44(2):213-8. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afu145. Epub 2014 Oct 16. Erratum In: Age Ageing. 2018 May 1;47(3):489. — View Citation

O'Sullivan D, O'Mahony D, O'Connor MN, Gallagher P, Gallagher J, Cullinan S, O'Sullivan R, Eustace J, Byrne S. Prevention of Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalised Older Patients Using a Software-Supported Structured Pharmacist Intervention: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial. Drugs Aging. 2016 Jan;33(1):63-73. doi: 10.1007/s40266-015-0329-y. — View Citation

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Ravn-Nielsen LV, Duckert ML, Lund ML, Henriksen JP, Nielsen ML, Eriksen CS, Buck TC, Pottegard A, Hansen MR, Hallas J. Effect of an In-Hospital Multifaceted Clinical Pharmacist Intervention on the Risk of Readmission: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2018 Mar 1;178(3):375-382. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.8274. — View Citation

Thompson K, Kulkarni J, Sergejew AA. Reliability and validity of a new Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) for the psychoses. Schizophr Res. 2000 May 5;42(3):241-7. doi: 10.1016/s0920-9964(99)00130-9. — View Citation

Thomsen LA, Winterstein AG, Sondergaard B, Haugbolle LS, Melander A. Systematic review of the incidence and characteristics of preventable adverse drug events in ambulatory care. Ann Pharmacother. 2007 Sep;41(9):1411-26. doi: 10.1345/aph.1H658. Epub 2007 Jul 31. — View Citation

Weir DL, Lee TC, McDonald EG, Motulsky A, Abrahamowicz M, Morgan S, Buckeridge D, Tamblyn R. Both New and Chronic Potentially Inappropriate Medications Continued at Hospital Discharge Are Associated With Increased Risk of Adverse Events. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 Jun;68(6):1184-1192. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16413. Epub 2020 Mar 31. — View Citation

Xing XX, Zhu C, Liang HY, Wang K, Chu YQ, Zhao LB, Jiang C, Wang YQ, Yan SY. Associations Between Potentially Inappropriate Medications and Adverse Health Outcomes in the Elderly: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Ann Pharmacother. 2019 Oct;53(10):1005-1019. doi: 10.1177/1060028019853069. Epub 2019 May 25. — View Citation

* Note: There are 26 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Quality Life Adjusted Year (QALY)	The study proposes to examine the DI cost-effectiveness from the wider public health services perspective including possible costs and benefits accrued via the community services and rehospitalizations. The study aims to assess the following cost-effectiveness measures of the DI as delivered by a trained physician and by a trained pharmacist	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Other	Cost per hospital readmission avoided	The cost-effectiveness analysis will be performed by combining quality of life data and data from hospital records (the number of days in hospital if readmitted) and health resource utilization costs.	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Other	Cost per ED attendance avoided	The cost-effectiveness analysis will be performed by combining quality of life data and data from hospital records (the number of emergency department attendances and health resource utilization costs.	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Other	Unscheduled readmission to hospital within 180 days of discharge	All-cause re-hospitalization in multi-morbid older people exposed to polypharmacy. This will be ascertained during the follow-up interview within 180 (+/-14) days post-discharge. The primary researcher will record on the electronic case report form whether there has there been an unscheduled hospital admission. Computerized hospital admission records will be inspected. If hospital readmission has occurred dates of admission and discharge will be recorded in the electronic case report form.	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Other	Composite endpoint of readmission to hospital or emergency department attendance within 180 days of discharge	All-cause re-hospitalization (outcome 2) will be ascertained as described. The number of days in hospital will be calculated for each visit and from these figures, the total days in hospital will be calculated. Unscheduled emergency department attendance (outcome 3) will also be ascertained as described. Computerized admission and emergency department attendance records will be used. The composite endpoint will be calculated from outcomes 2 and 3.	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Primary	Unscheduled readmission to hospital.	All-cause re-hospitalization in multi-morbid older people exposed to polypharmacy. Computerized hospital admission records will be inspected. If hospital readmission has occurred dates of admission and discharge will be recorded in the electronic case report form.	At day 30 post-discharge.
Primary	Emergency Department attendance.	Unscheduled emergency department attendance at in multi-morbid older people exposed to polypharmacy. Computerized hospital emergency department attendance records will be inspected. The primary researcher will record on the electronic case report form whether there has there been an unscheduled emergency department attendance since the first follow-up post discharge.	At day 30 post-discharge.
Primary	Composite endpoint 1	Composite endpoint of readmission to hospital or emergency department attendance within 30 days of discharge from the index admission.	At day 30 post-discharge.
Primary	Unscheduled readmission to hospital.	Unscheduled readmission at 180 days post-discharge in multi-morbid older people exposed to polypharmacy. This will be ascertained during the follow-up interview within 180 (+/-14) days post-discharge. Computerized hospital emergency department attendance records will be inspected. The primary researcher will record on the electronic case report form whether there has there been an unscheduled readmission at 180 days since discharge from the index hospital admission.	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Primary	Emergency Department attendance.	Unscheduled emergency department attendance at in multi-morbid older people exposed to polypharmacy. This will be ascertained during the follow-up interview within 180 (+/-14) days post-discharge. Computerized hospital emergency department attendance records will be inspected. The primary researcher will record on the electronic case report form whether there has there been an unscheduled emergency department attendance at 180 days since discharge from the index hospital admission.	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Primary	Composite endpoint 2	Composite endpoint of readmission to hospital or emergency department attendance within 180 days of discharge from the index admission.	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Secondary	Quality of life measured by EuroQol quality of life 5 dimensional 5 level instrument (incorporating pain control)	The EuroQol quality of life 5 dimensional 5 level instrument (EQ5D-5L) is a self-reported quality of life questionnaire comprised of five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Each of the five dimensions is divided into five levels: level 1 (no problem), level 2 (slight problems), level 3 (moderate problems), level 4 (severe problems) and level 5 (unable to/extreme problems).The results are used to calculate a five digit score that describes the patient's health state. This value is the converted into an index value, on a range between 0 and 1, where 0 represents "a state as bad as being dead" and 1 represents "full health".In addition, the questionnaire has a Visual Analogue Scale question which asks the patient to indicate their overall health on the day of questionnaire completion. This is a 0 -100 scale where 100 represents "The best health you can imagine' and 0 'The worst health you can imagine'.	At day 30 post-discharge.
Secondary	Quality of life measured by EuroQol quality of life 5 dimensional 5 level instrument	The EQ5D-5L is a self-reported quality of life questionnaire comprised of five dimensions. The questionnaire gives a score in the range between 0 and 1, where 0 represents "a state as bad as being dead" and 1 represents "full health".In addition, the questionnaire has a Visual Analogue Scale question which asks the patient to indicate their overall health on the day of questionnaire completion. This is a 0 -100 scale where 100 represents "The best health you can imagine' and 0 'The worst health you can imagine'.	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Secondary	All-cause mortality	secondary outcome	At day 30 post-discharge.
Secondary	All-cause mortality	secondary outcome	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.
Secondary	Occurrence of first admission to residential care facility for long-term nursing care	secondary outcome	At day 30 post-discharge.
Secondary	Occurrence of first admission to residential care facility for long-term nursing care	secondary outcome	At between days 90 and 180 post-discharge.