Pharmacist-led deprescribing interventions for cancer patients in a specialist palliative care setting

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) among adult cancer patients in palliative care, the rate at which physicians implemented pharmacists' deprescribing recommendations, and some cost implications of deprescribing.

Medication reconciliation was performed for each eligible patient, with both the OncPal deprescribing guideline and clinical judgement applied to identify PIMs. PIM prevalence was evaluated for each medication class. The physician recommendation implementation rate and medication cost savings were calculated.

In the 48 included patients, 25.2% of medications were PIMs (mean 2.4/patient) - with 86.7% OncPal-defined PIMs, most commonly vitamins, medications for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), and lipid-modifying agents. Pharmacist deprescribing recommendations were implemented 71.7% of the time, equivalent to 1.7 fewer medications per patient. The 28-day cost was €948.27 for deprescribed PIMs. Implementation rates varied based on patient admission type, with a significantly higher (p<0.05) rate in those admitted for end-of-life care (83.3%) versus symptom control (65.1%) and respite (30%) admissions. Recommendations to deprescribe GORD medications had a significantly lower rate of implementation (26.7%) compared to all other medications (p<0.0001).

This study underscores the benefits of pharmacist-led deprescribing in inpatient palliative care, resulting in cost savings and reduced medication burden. There is a notable need for proactive deprescribing before reaching inpatient care. Different deprescribing rates across medication types highlight the significance of reviewing medications which may have a role in symptom management. The omission of some medications from OncPal emphasises the importance in refining future deprescribing guidelines in palliative care.