Effects of an interprofessional Quality Circle-Deprescribing Module (QC-DeMo) in Swiss nursing homes: a randomised controlled trial

• Published in: BMC geriatrics 2021-05, Vol.21 (1), p.289-289, Article 289
• Main Authors: Cateau, Damien, Ballabeni, Pierluigi, Niquille, Anne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collaboration; Dementia disorders; Deprescribing; Dosage; Drug therapy; Drug use; Drugs; Geriatrics; Intervention; Medication errors; Mortality; Nursing home; Nursing home patients; Nursing homes; Older people; Physical restraints; Polypharmacy; Potentially inappropriate medications; Prescribing; Prescription drugs; Prevention; Proton pump inhibitors; Quality circle; Quality circles; Quality management; Regression analysis
• ISSN: 1471-2318; 1471-2318
• DOI: 10.1186/s12877-021-02220-y

Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are common among nursing homes (NH) residents, as is polypharmacy. Deprescribing has emerged in the past decade as a safe and effective way to reduce the use of PIMs and improve patient outcomes. However, effective deprescribing interventions are expensive, as they require specialised staff and a great amount of time for each resident. The Quality Circle Deprescribing Module (QC-DeMo) intervention was designed to be less resource-intensive than medication reviews, the current deprescribing gold standard. It consists of a QC session in which physicians, nurses, and pharmacists define a local deprescribing consensus for specific PIMs classes, which is then implemented in the NH. The intervention was trialled in a RCT, with the NH as unit of analysis. After randomisation, intervention NHs enacted the QC-DeMo at the start of the follow-up year. The primary outcomes were the proportion of PIM galenic units and number of PIM defined daily dose per average resident and per day (DDD/res). PIM status was assessed by a combination of the 2015 Beers list and the Norwegian General Practice-Nursing Home criteria. Secondary outcomes were the number of DDD/res to avoid and to reevaluate; safety outcomes were mortality, hospitalisations, falls, and use of physical restraints. Outcomes were evaluated at follow-up using linear regression models, adjusting for the outcome baseline values. Fifty-eight NHs took part in the trial; no individual residents were recruited. The intervention did not reduce the primary outcomes, but a strong trend towards reduction was seen for the number of PIM DDD/res, which accounts for the doses used. PIM DDD/res to reevaluate were significantly reduced, mostly through a reduction in the use of proton-pump inhibitors. Falls and use of physical restraints were not affected, but a statistical interaction between the mission of the NH (geriatric unit or specialised dementia unit) and the intervention group was seen for mortality and hospitalisations. The QC-DeMo intervention can reduce the use of some PIM classes, and could usefully complement other deprescribing interventions. ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT03688542 ), registered on 26.09.2018, retrospectively registered.