Drugs & aging
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Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is an abnormal blood pressure response to standing, which is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes such as syncope, falls, cognitive impairment, and mortality. Medical therapy is one the most common causes of OH, since numerous cardiovascular and psychoactive medications may interfere with the blood pressure response to standing, leading to drug-related OH. Additionally, hypotensive medications frequently overlap with other OH risk factors (e.g., advanced age, neurogenic autonomic dysfunction, and comorbidities), thus increasing the risk of symptoms and complications. ⋯ If symptoms persist after the review of hypotensive medications, despite adherence to non-pharmacological interventions, specific drug treatment for OH can be considered. In this narrative review we present an overview of drugs acting on the cardiovascular and central nervous system that may potentially impair the orthostatic blood pressure response and we provide practical suggestions that may be helpful to guide medical therapy optimization in patients with OH. In addition, we summarize the available strategies for drug treatment of OH in patients with persistent symptoms despite non-pharmacological interventions.
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Meta Analysis
Interventions to Reduce Adverse Drug Event-Related Outcomes in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Many studies focus on interventions that reduce the processes that lead to adverse drug events (ADEs), such as inappropriate or high-risk prescribing, without assessing whether they result in a reduction in ADEs or associated adverse health outcomes. ⋯ No significant benefit was gained from any of the interventions in terms of the outcomes considered. New approaches are required to reduce ADEs in older adults.
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This article provides a concise overview of local anesthetic systemic toxicity, its history, mechanisms, risk factors, prevention, clinical presentation, and treatment, with a special emphasis on issues specific to the geriatric population. The authors used MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar to search for original research articles (human and animal studies), registries data, case reports, review articles, and pertinent online publications using the combinations of the following search terms: local anesthetics, local anesthetic systemic toxicity, intralipid, lipid emulsion, Exparel, ultrasound-guidance, regional anesthesia, lidocaine, bupivacaine, ropivacaine, cocaine, procaine, tetracaine, levobupivacaine, liposomal bupivacaine, lignocaine. Local anesthetic systemic toxicity continues to occur despite the use of putatively less cardiotoxic formulations of local anesthetics and more common use of ultrasound guidance. ⋯ Elderly patients are at increased risk of local anesthetic systemic toxicity. When considering use of local anesthetics in older patients, special attention should be paid to the presence of systemic disease and muscle wasting. The safety of regional anesthesia and multi-modal analgesia among these at-risk patients will be improved by educating physicians and staff to recognize and manage local anesthetic systemic toxicity.
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Polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are prevalent in older adults in hospital, and are associated with negative outcomes including adverse drug reactions, falls, confusion, hospitalisation and death. Deprescribing may reduce inappropriate polypharmacy and use of inappropriate medications. ⋯ The evidence available suggests that deprescribing interventions in hospital are feasible, generally effective at reducing PIMs and safe. However, the current evidence is limited, of low quality and the impact on clinical outcomes is unclear.
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Polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are prevalent in older adults in hospital, and are associated with negative outcomes including adverse drug reactions, falls, confusion, hospitalisation and death. Deprescribing may reduce inappropriate polypharmacy and use of inappropriate medications. ⋯ The evidence available suggests that deprescribing interventions in hospital are feasible, generally effective at reducing PIMs and safe. However, the current evidence is limited, of low quality and the impact on clinical outcomes is unclear.