Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025
Assessment of Dependence in Activities of Daily Living Among Older Patients in an Acute Care Unit
Published on: September 30, 2020
Association between changes in potentially inappropriate medication use and adverse outcomes during hospitalization
Ying-Hsin Hsu1, Ming-Yueh Chou2, Wei-Cheng Chang3
1Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan; Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
Purpose:
To evaluate the association between the change in the number of PIMs in older adults during hospitalization and adverse outcomes.
Methods:
This retrospective cohort study was conducted in the internal medicine wards of a tertiary teaching hospital between May and December 2017. 3,460 patients (77.5±8.4 years, 60.4% male) were enrolled, and 206 patients died during hospitalization. PIMs were defined using the Beers Criteria as suggested by the American Geriatrics Society. Adverse outcomes studied were functional decline (a loss in 1 or more activities of daily living from admission to discharge), prolonged length of stay (LOS) (≥14 days), and mortality.
Results:
2258 patients (65.3%) had increasing PIMs during hospitalization. They tended to be younger (77.0±8.3 versus 78.5±8.5 years, p<0.001) and had lower numbers of PIMs at admission (0.4±0.8 versus 0.8±1.1, p<0.001). Increasing PIM use was strongly associated with greater functional decline (aOR 1.36, 95%CI 1.01-1.67, p=0.005), prolonged LOS (aOR 3.47, 95%CI 2.71-4.44, p<0.001) and higher mortality rate (aOR 2.68, 95%CI 1.75-4.12, p<0.001), even after adjusting for all covariates. We observed a strong association between adverse outcomes and increasing PIMs in older adults during hospitalization (p for trend <0.001).
Conclusions:
Older adults with increasing PIMs during hospitalization were at greater risk for functional decline, prolonged LOS, and mortality, especially in those with three or more PIMs. Further studies are needed to better understand the complex interactions and to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention programs to lower PIM number and improve discharge outcomes for patients who had increasing PIM use during hospitalization.
More Related Videos
05:15Cutoff Value of Phase Angle by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis at Admission as a Prognostic Factor in Patients with Acute Heart Failure
Published on: June 10, 2025
04:13Using a Real-Time Locating System to Measure Walking Activity Associated with Wandering Behaviors Among Institutionalized Older Adults
Published on: February 8, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:19Pharmacovigilance
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...
01:28Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications
01:15Chronopharmacokinetics: Circadian Rhythms and Influence on Drug Response
The time of drug administration is an important factor to consider, as it can influence the toxic dose of a drug. For example, a study conducted by Prins et al. in 1997 examined the effects of the timing of...
01:21Factors Affecting Drug Response: Overview
01:22Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
01:29Factors Affecting Protein-Drug Binding: Patient-Related Factors
Age stands as a key determinant in protein-drug binding. Neonates, characterized by low albumin content, experience heightened concentrations of unbound drugs such as phenytoin and...