An observational study of psychotropic drug use and initiation in older patients resident in their own home or in care

Source: Age and Ageing Area: Evidence > Medicines Management > References Objective: To compare the prescription of psychotropic medications for patients living in care homes with that for patients living at home. Design and Setting: Retrospective population database study in the Tayside region of Scotland. Subjects: 70,297 patients aged 65 or older and followed until death or the end of the study. Methods: Examining registered addresses for all people aged 65-99 identified those in care.  Prescriptions for a 12-week period were examined and psychotropic drug use compared by their place of residence.  Comparisons of prescriptions pre- and post-admission were performed for people admitted to a care home from Jan 2005 to Dec 2006. Results: People living in care (4.1%) received 9.80 more prescribed items (P less than 0.001) from 1.63 more British National Formulary (BNF) categories (P less than 0.001) than people living at home over a 12-week period.  They were more likely to receive any psychotropic ...
Source: NeLM - Care of Older People - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: news