Assessment Of Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions Among Geriatric Population Using START/STOPP Criteria In Indian Geriatric Patients

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand the prevalence of Polypharmacy and Potentially Inappropriate prescription and medication use in the geriatric population, using the Screening Tool to Alert Right Treatment (START)/ Screening Tool of Older Persons Prescription (STOPP) screening tools. Polypharmacy and Inappropriate prescribing pose a challenge to tackle the erratic use of medication for the elderly, in the treatment of their one or many underlying conditions. The prescription of multiple medications could lead to the rise of Adverse drug reactions during the treatment period. To prevent the rise of such potential conditions, prescription screening tools such as START/STOPP are used to alert Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs) and optimize therapy. A prospective observational study was conducted using the case sheets of 166 geriatric patients prescribed with a total of 916 medications that were screened for PIMs using the START/STOPP screening tool. Out of the 916 medications screened, 252 medications were identified as PIMs, out of which the highest category of PIMs seen was in the polypharmacy group (use of 5-9 drugs simultaneously) at the rate of 42%(n=108). The results of this study provide evidence that there is an increase in the incidence of PIMs with respect to polypharmacy. By applying the screening tools such as the START/STOPP criteria in the prescriptions, the rise in PIMs can be prevented that will help optimizing the selection and use of medications in elderly patients.