Improper medication use varies widely in Europe

	Tweet

The degree to which elderly home-care patients in Europe are prescribed potentially inappropriate medication varies widely between countries, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This seems to be a big problem in the Czech Republic.

Several large surveys have explored potentially inappropriate medication use in the United States. By contrast, relatively little information exists regarding this problem in Europe.

To investigate, Dr. Daniela Faviola, from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, and colleagues conducted a study of 2707 home-care patients living in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway or the UK. Criteria from two expert panels convened in 1997, and one convened in 2003, were used to determine potentially inappropriate medication use.

Using all criteria, nearly 20 percent of subjects used at least one inappropriate medication, the investigators found. When only the criteria from 1993 were used, the rate was around 10 percent.

By far, the country with the highest rate of inappropriate use was Czech Republic at 41 percent. The average rate for the remaining countries studied was 15.8 percent, ranging from 5.8 percent for Denmark to 26.5 percent for Italy.

On a patient basis, poor economic situation and taking multiple drugs each nearly doubled the risk of potentially inappropriate medication use. In addition, anti-anxiety drug use and depression increased the risk of inappropriate use. In contrast, living alone and being at least 85 years of age cut the risk by about 23 percent each.

“Because one of the current principal aims of the European Union is to improve practice, rules, and regulations throughout Europe, harmonizing drug policy and regulatory measures with respect to potentially inappropriate medication use should be a major focus,” the investigators emphasize.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, March 16, 2005.

RELATED STORIES:
UK agency proposes ban on Alzheimer’s drugs   Prescriptions for teens and young adults on the rise   Aetna stops paying Bextra drug claims   More U.S. doctors facing charges over drug abuse   Risks in Ordering Drugs by Internet on the Rise   Antipsychotic drug for dementia have adverse effects   No increase in severe cardiovascular events for children, adolescents taking ADHD medications   Long-term risks of Viagra® use unclear   BP drugs reduce pneumonia risk in stroke patients   Suicide warning issued for two anti-smoking drugs   Fake drugs threaten gains made in war on malaria   Drug reduces hot flashes in breast cancer patients

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]