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Medication-Related Admissions Among Older Patients in a Danish Emergency Department: Prevalence, Preventability and

Louise Westberg Strejby Christensen1,2, Kim Peder Dalhoff2,3, Esben Iversen1

  • 1Department of Clinical Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark.

Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology
|November 4, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Medication-related admissions (MRAs) are highly prevalent in Danish emergency departments (EDs), affecting over 16% of older medical patients. Many of these admissions are preventable, highlighting a need for better identification and intervention strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Geriatric Medicine
  • Clinical Pharmacy
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Medication-related admissions (MRAs) pose a significant challenge in healthcare, particularly for older adults.
  • Previous data on the prevalence of MRAs in Danish emergency departments (EDs) is limited.
  • Older medical patients are a vulnerable group susceptible to adverse drug events.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of possibly medication-related admissions (PMRAs) in older medical patients in Danish EDs.
  • To assess the preventability of identified PMRAs.
  • To identify patient characteristics associated with PMRAs.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective, exploratory, descriptive secondary analysis of acutely admitted older medical patients (≥65 years).
  • Data collected from Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre ED between October 2018 and April 2021.
  • PMRAs assessed using the Assessment Tool for Hospital Admissions Related to Medications, with final classification by expert panel.

Main Results:

  • 31 out of 193 admissions (16.1%) were classified as PMRAs.
  • A high proportion of PMRAs were deemed preventable (48.4% potentially, 35.5% definitely).
  • Common causes included untreated conditions (19.4%) and miscommunication (16.1%); no specific patient characteristics were reliable predictors.

Conclusions:

  • Medication-related admissions are highly prevalent among older medical patients in Danish EDs.
  • A significant number of these admissions are preventable, indicating a need for targeted interventions.
  • Improved identification and prevention strategies for MRAs are crucial in emergency care settings.
Keywords:
acute admissioninappropriate prescribingmedication reviewpatient stratification

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