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Pro re nata prescribing and administration for neuropsychiatric symptoms and pain in long-term care residents with dementia and memory problems: a cross-sectional study
- Source :
- International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Springer Verlag, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Background: Prescribing, dispensing and administering pro re nata (PRN; as needed or necessary, as determined by an individual) medicines to people with intermittent or short-term conditions is a potential area for medication errors and inappropriate prescribing and administration. In people with dementia, regular PRN medicines use can demonstrate good practice when appropriate or poor in situations where their use is not recommended. However, the frequency of PRN prescription and administration within long-term care settings (care homes) for people with dementia is largely unknown. A limited number of studies worldwide suggest variation between countries. Objective: To describe the prescription and administration rates of PRN medicines for people with dementia in UK care homes. Setting: Fifty UK care homes. Method: Medication details were collected from review of residents’ medicines records within the care home for the previous month. Main outcome measure: Prescription and administration of PRN medicines for the treatment of behaviours associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms and pain. Results: The most commonly prescribed PRN medicines were analgesics (35.3%), although lower levels of PRN prescription were observed compared to recent studies. The percentage of residents receiving PRN administrations varied, with 20% for antipsychotics, 50% for benzodiazepines, 59% for analgesics, and 85.7% for nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics being administered. Conclusion: Further research is needed to understand the decision making in PRN prescription and administration within long-term care. The prescribing of potentially inappropriate medicines remains a problem in long-term care settings and pharmacists have a key role in reducing inappropriate polypharmacy by undertaking medication reviews that consider both regular and PRN medicines.
- Subjects :
- Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Cross-sectional study
Nonbenzodiazepine
Pharmaceutical Science
Pain
Pharmacy
Inappropriate Prescribing
Toxicology
030226 pharmacology & pharmacy
Drug Prescriptions
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Pro re nata
Medicine
Dementia
Humans
Antipsychotics
Pharmacology (medical)
030212 general & internal medicine
Medical prescription
Aged
Pharmacology
Polypharmacy
Aged, 80 and over
Inpatients
Memory Disorders
business.industry
Mental Disorders
medicine.disease
Long-Term Care
Drug Utilization
United Kingdom
Neuropsychiatric symptoms
Long-term care
Cross-Sectional Studies
Socioeconomic Factors
Family medicine
Female
Analgesic
business
Research Article
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 22107711
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....321310bc2de3fec76324fb3f20814c95