Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2025

Drug Repurposing Hypothesis Generation Using the "RE:fine Drugs" System
Published on: December 11, 2016
Revisiting systematic reviews on deprescribing trials to better inform future practice and research
Anne Spinewine1,2, Emily Reeve3,4, Wade Thompson5,6
1Clinical Pharmacy Research Group, Louvain Drug Research Institute, UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Abstract:
Deprescribing aims to address the problem of medication overuse in older adults. There has been an increasing number of systematic reviews of 'deprescribing'. We aimed to describe the categories of trials included in recent systematic reviews, and to make recommendations for future research. We categorized 122 trials included in eight recent deprescribing systematic reviews into: discontinuation, deprescribing implementation, medication optimisation (including medication initiation) and non-initiation trials. We identified heterogeneity and inconsistency in the categories of trials included in deprescribing systematic reviews. For example, 39 trials (32.0%) involved medication initiation in addition to the deprescribing component. It is now time for international researchers to develop and validate terminology used for trials involving discontinuation/deprescribing of medications, and to provide recommendations for evidence synthesis that will better inform future research, and translation into practice and policy.
Related Concept Videos
Antidepressant Drugs: Overview
Pharmacovigilance
This process, termed pharmacovigilance, aims to detect, evaluate, and minimize harmful effects related to medication use. The data collection for pharmacovigilance depends on spontaneous reporting systems, where healthcare professionals or patients voluntarily report suspected ADRs.
In some cases, there...
Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications
Clinical Trials
There are four phases in a clinical trial. A phase one...
Antidepressant Drugs: Tricyclics, SSRIs, and SNRIs
Desensitization and Tachyphylaxis

