Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026
12:18
A Machine Learning Approach to Design an Efficient Selective Screening of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: January 11, 2020
Preventive medication use among persons with limited life expectancy
André R Maddison1, Judith Fisher, Grace Johnston
1Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Progress in Palliative Care
|July 7, 2011
Summary
Individuals with limited life expectancy often continue preventive medications with questionable benefit. Shifting to palliative care and medication review is advised to improve end-of-life care and reduce polypharmacy.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Palliative Care
- Clinical Pharmacy
Background:
- Persons with limited life expectancy (LLE), defined as less than one year, are high healthcare consumers facing risks of polypharmacy and adverse drug events.
- Their dynamic health status necessitates appropriate and regularly evaluated medication use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current literature on preventive medication use in individuals with LLE.
- To assess knowledge and clinical practices concerning medication appropriateness in end-of-life care.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search using Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases.
- Searches included terms related to terminal care, advanced disease, polypharmacy, inappropriate medication, preventive medicine, and specific drug classes (statins, antihypertensives, bisphosphonates, laxatives).
Main Results:
- A significant proportion of individuals with terminal conditions continue preventive medications until death, often with unclear benefits.
- The study highlights the need for frameworks to differentiate appropriate from inappropriate medications for LLE patients.
- Evidence suggests a shift in medication goals from curative to palliative as death approaches.
Conclusions:
- There is a need for consensus criteria to guide appropriate medication use and reduce polypharmacy in end-of-life care.
- The addition of palliative preventive medications is recommended.
- This review is a foundational step toward optimizing medication management for individuals with LLE.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
01:30Preventive Healthcare Services
Preventive healthcare services keep people healthy via frequent check-ups, screening, and counseling. They primarily aid in disease prevention rather than treating an acute or chronic illness. Preventive treatment also keeps individuals productive and energetic, allowing them to work well into their retirement years. Examples of preventive care services include:
01:26Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
Health promotion allows a person to control the determinants of health, resulting in an improved health status. It enhances the quality of life and reduces premature deaths. Health promotion and illness prevention programs help people make beneficial choices to reduce the risk of disease and disabilities. There are three health promotion and illness prevention levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
01:02Prescription, Nonprescription and Orphan Drugs
Prescription drugs require a prescription from a medical practitioner and can only be obtained from a pharmacy. They have many applications, including treating pain, anxiety, and hypertension.
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
01:30Pneumonia V: Nursing management and Prevention
Nursing management of pneumonia involves promoting airway patency, facilitating rest and conserving energy, encouraging fluid intake, maintaining nutrition, and educating patients.
The nurse must practice strict medical asepsis and adhere to infection control guidelines to minimize healthcare-associated infections.
Enhance airway patency
Position the patient correctly to facilitate drainage of the affected lung segments. Manual or mechanical percussion and vibration can also be employed.
The nurse must practice strict medical asepsis and adhere to infection control guidelines to minimize healthcare-associated infections.
Enhance airway patency
Position the patient correctly to facilitate drainage of the affected lung segments. Manual or mechanical percussion and vibration can also be employed.
01:00Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution
Drug distribution in the human body is influenced by several factors, including plasma protein concentration, body composition, blood flow, tissue-protein concentration, and tissue fluid pH. Among these, changes in plasma protein concentration and body composition due to aging significantly affect how drugs are distributed within the body. Specifically, aging is associated with a decrease in albumin levels by about 10% and an increase in α1-acid glycoprotein levels. These alterations are not...