The PROMISING Project: A Pilot Study to Improve Geriatric Care Through a Pharmacist-Led Psychotropic Stewardship Program.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Psychotropic medications are frequently prescribed during acute care, even in older patients. They represent a risk for inappropriate long-term use and increase the overall risk of morbidity and mortality in this population. Our project aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a psychotropic medication stewardship program led by pharmacists. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational pilot study in patients aged 75 years and older, admitted to a surgical unit with at least one active prescription of a psychotropic medication (antipsychotic, benzodiazepine or non-benzodiazepine receptor agonist). Each psychotropic medication was assessed for potential deprescription, and if eligible, a recommendation from the stewardship pharmacist was made to the medical team. RESULTS: Among 183 patients, 93.4% were eligible for a potential deprescription. A total of 298 prescriptions were evaluated by the stewardship pharmacists, of which 57.7% were antipsychotics, 22.8% were benzodiazepines and 19.5% were non-benzodiazepine receptor agonists. Most of the assessed prescriptions were started during current hospitalization (62.7%). The median time required for the intervention per patient was 17 min 30 s. The stewardship pharmacists made 192 suggestions for 258 eligible prescriptions, with 69.8% being deprescription recommendations. Of all the deprescription suggestions, 75.4% were accepted by the medical team and 84.8% of those accepted persisted at discharge. CONCLUSION: The implementation of a pharmacist-led psychotropic medication stewardship program on surgical units in our hospital is feasible and is a promising approach to improve geriatric care.

Prescribing and deprescribing trends in schizophrenia: An overview of inpatients in Belgium and in the Canadian province of Québec.

Although switching to antipsychotic monotherapy improves patient outcomes in schizophrenia, antipsychotic deprescribing is rarely performed, and its use varies between countries, as do psychotropic prescribing patterns. This study aimed to determine factors associated with antipsychotic deprescribing at discharge after a psychiatric hospitalization and to compare psychotropic prescribing patterns between Belgium and Québec, Canada. Data on adult inpatients with schizophrenia were collected retrospectively in seven hospitals. At discharge, the number of antipsychotics had decreased in 22.2% of the 63 Canadian patients and 9.9% of the 516 Belgian patients. A number of factors increased the likelihood of antipsychotic deprescribing: a hospitalization in the Canadian hospital (aOR = 4.13, 95% CI 1.48-11.5), living in a residential facility (aOR = 2.51, 95% CI 1.05-4.39), ≥2 previous antipsychotic trials (aOR = 15.38, 95% CI 3.62-65.36), having an antipsychotic side effect (aOR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.01-3.44) and being in a general hospital (aOR = 2.28, 95% CI 1.09-4.75). Patients on a long-acting injectable antipsychotic (aOR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.26-0.98), with prior clozapine use (aOR = 0.36, 95% CI 0.13-0.95), greater antipsychotic exposure (aOR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.2-0.61) and more hypno-sedatives (aOR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.43-0.98), were less likely to be deprescribed. Specific deprescribing interventions could target patients who are less likely to be deprescribed.

Risperidone is not only a prodrug: psychosis induced by medication switch from risperidone to paliperidone - a case report.

Once administered, risperidone is converted into its pharmacologically active form, paliperidone. Thus, their pharmacological effects are expected to be equivalent. We encountered a psychosis induced by the switch from risperidone to paliperidone.This is the case of a schizoaffective patient stabilised on risperidone long-acting injection (LAI) who consented to switch to paliperidone LAI. On day 0, he received his first dose of paliperidone. On day 86, he presented to the emergency department with an acute psychotic episode. On day 92, he committed a violent act. The patient was restarted on risperidone LAI and stabilised.Risperidone is extensively metabolised to paliperidone via CYP450 2D6. Interindividual and ethnic genetic polymorphism cause variability in CYP450 2D6 phenotypes. In this possible case of low-functioning alleles, the patient had a higher risperidone to paliperidone ratio at steady state. Although risperidone is paliperidone's prodrug, this case highlights the interindividual pharmacotherapeutic response to these two antipsychotics.

Combination of Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders-A Systematic Review of the Literature and Case Series.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of refractory schizophrenia is complex, and compliance with oral treatment, including clozapine, can be challenging at times. The purpose of this case series and literature review article is to evaluate the efficacy of the combined use of 2 different long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIAs) on the number of psychiatric hospitalizations and emergency department visits. There are currently few data to support this treatment option, despite the frequent use of combinations of oral antipsychotics. METHODS: We extracted the data from 8 different patients who received combination LAIAs from 1 hospital setting. We evaluated the frequency of hospitalization and emergency department visits before and after treatment with a mirror-image study design. A systematic review of existing literature was included to find all previously reported cases of combination LAIAs. RESULTS: The frequency of hospitalizations was greatly reduced after the initiation of combination LAIA treatment in the majority of the cases at study site, as well as in the literature review. The number of ED visits was not as clearly affected. In the literature review, combinations of 2 LAIAs with different mechanisms of action were often documented. Symptom scores were also reduced in most reviewed cases. CONCLUSIONS: Combinations of LAIAs seem to be promising as a treatment option for refractory psychotic disorders. This combination could be a treatment option for patients with limited alternatives, such as clozapine resistant or not eligible. The higher risk of adverse effects and long-term risks are not well documented.

Visual compatibility and particle counter evaluations of syringes of intramuscular psychotropic coadministered solutions.

BACKGROUND: Patients in the acute phase of agitation can require the administration of multiple drugs by intramuscular injection in order to temporarily stabilise their condition. Administration of multiple psychotropic medications in a single syringe can be beneficial to both the patient and healthcare professionals. However, there are very little data in the literature regarding psychotropic drug compatibility in syringes for acute agitation. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the visual compatibility of various combinations of 12 intramuscular psychotropic medications in syringes, and to validate compatibility with the use of a particle counter. The medications evaluated were benztropine mesylate, diazepam, dimenhydrinate, diphenhydramine hydrochloride, haloperidol lactate, hydroxyzine, lorazepam, loxapine, methotrimeprazine, midazolam, olanzapine and zuclopenthixol acetate. METHODS: Compounded solutions of medication combinations underwent visual inspection initially and after 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 hours using a white background and a black background. In order to validate the compatibility results, the presence of particulate matter was determined by light obscuration. RESULTS: This study identified 35 combinations that were visually compatible and 35 that were visually incompatible. We chose eight highly clinically relevant combinations to test using the requirements of the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) chapter 788 (Particulate Matter in Injections). Of those eight, six were physically compatible, including the triple combinations of lorazepam and haloperidol with either benztropine or diphenhydramine. CONCLUSION: These physical compatibility results will give healthcare professionals an idea of the possible compatible combinations of psychotropic drugs in syringes, and thus complete some of the missing data in the literature.

Assessing cardiometabolic parameter monitoring in inpatients taking a second-generation antipsychotic: The CAMI-SGA study - a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine the proportion of initial cardiometabolic assessment and its predicting factors in adults with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or other related diagnoses for whom a second-generation antipsychotic was prescribed in the hospital setting. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: The psychiatry unit of a Canadian tertiary care teaching hospital in Montreal, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: 402 patients with aforementioned disorders who initiated, restarted or switched to one of the following antipsychotics: clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone, paliperidone or quetiapine, between 2013 and 2016. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: We assessed the proportion of cardiometabolic parameters monitored. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: We identified predictors that influence the monitoring of cardiometabolic parameters and we assessed the proportion of adequate interventions following the screening of uncontrolled blood pressure and fasting glucose or glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) results. RESULTS: Only 37.3% of patients received monitoring for at least three cardiometabolic parameters. Blood pressure was assessed in 99.8% of patients; lipid profile in 24.4%; fasting glucose or HbA1c in 33.3% and weight or body mass index in 97.8% of patients while waist circumference was assessed in 4.5% of patients. For patients with abnormal blood pressure and glycaemic values, 42.3% and 41.2% subsequent interventions were done, respectively. The study highlighted the psychiatric diagnosis (substance induced disorder OR 0.06 95% CI 0.00 to 0.44), the presence of a court-ordered treatment (OR 0.79 95% CI 0.35 to 1.79) and the treating psychiatrist (up to OR 34.0 95% CI 16.2 to 140.7) as predictors of cardiometabolic monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: This study reports suboptimal baseline cardiometabolic monitoring of patients taking an antipsychotic in a Canadian hospital. Optimising collaboration within a multidisciplinary team may increase cardiometabolic monitoring.

Opioid Use and Pain Control in the Elderly After Elective or Urgent Orthopaedic Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: As an increasing number of elderly are undergoing orthopaedic procedures, it is important to understand and evaluate postoperative pain management in this population, especially in regard to opioid use. Data in the literature pertaining to the very elderly remains scarce. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to evaluate whether older patients require lower opioid doses than their younger counterparts after undergoing an elective or urgent orthopaedic procedure, and to assess the cumulative incidence of adverse events and length of stay for each age group. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed to compare the mean opioid use and pain control between two groups of elderly patients (65-79 years and ≥ 80 years of age). The study included 250 patients who underwent either an elective arthroplasty or urgent orthopaedic surgery following a fracture. Data were collected during the 7 days following surgery. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in mean and maximal pain scores between the two groups. Opioid use (expressed in intravenous morphine equivalents) was higher in the younger group. The difference reached statistical significance on the first postoperative day (subjects 65-79 years of age taking 21.3 mg, vs. 10.9 mg for the group over 80 years of age; mean difference 10.3 mg, 95% confidence interval 1.3-19.4). This was also observed in patients undergoing elective surgery on postoperative days 1, 5, 6 and 7. No difference in opioid use was observed between age groups in patients undergoing urgent surgery. Acute cognitive status deterioration, delirium, oxygen desaturation and constipation were observed more frequently in the older group, while mean length of stay was higher in the older group undergoing urgent surgery (8 vs. 17 days, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings further support age-related differences in opioid requirements during the postoperative context after elective orthopaedic surgery, while no difference was found between age groups after urgent surgery.