title: Drug-related hospital admissions among old people with dementia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Drug treatment associated problems are common and are the cause of a large proportion of hospitalizations in old people. People with dementia are especially at risk of drug-related problems. The objectives of this study were to assess the occurrence and character of drug-related problems that lead to acute hospital admissions among old people (≥65 years) with dementia or cognitive impairment.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted in orthopedic and internal medicine wards in two hospitals in Northern Sweden. Information about acute admissions was collected from the medical records. A total of 458 people aged 65 years or older with dementia or cognitive impairment were included in the study. The contribution of drug-related problems to each hospitalization was assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 458 acute hospital admissions, 189 (41.3 %) were determined to be drug-related. The most common drug-related problem (86/189; 45.5 %) was an adverse drug reaction. In total, 264 drugs were judged to be involved in 189 drug-related admissions, of which cardiovascular (29.5 %) and psychotropic (26.9 %) drugs were the most commonly involved drug classes. The relationship between the drug-related problem and the admission was judged certain in 25 cases, probable in 78 cases, and possible in 86 cases. Drug-related admissions were more common among people taking more drugs (p = 0.035) and among younger patients (p = 0.031).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Drug-related problems appear to be responsible for a major proportion of hospitalizations among old people with dementia or cognitive impairment. Targeted interventions such as education and medication reviews may be warranted to reduce drug-related problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. maria.gustafsson@umu.se.|Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Geriatric Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. maria.gustafsson@umu.se.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sjölander
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pfister
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jeanette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jonsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jörn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schneede
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Geriatric Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lövheim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006766:Hospitals, County / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Dementia; Drug-related hospitalizations; Drug-related problems; Old people