A manual of guidelines to score the modified cumulative illness rating scale and its validation in acute hospitalized elderly patients.

OBJECTIVES: To update previous guidelines to score the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS) and test their usefulness in hospitalized elderly patients. DESIGN: The CIRS was scored retrospectively in a cohort of elderly patients followed for 18 months. SETTING: An acute internal medicine ward in an academic tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred eighty-seven patients aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: The CIRS was retrospectively scored for the enrolled patients. Intrarater and interrater reliability were calculated. Two illness severity indices (total score (TSC) and severity (SV)) and one comorbidity index (CM) were obtained. Clinical features and comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) variables were also used. All patients underwent an 18-month follow-up for mortality and rehospitalization. RESULTS: Intrarater and interrater reliability of the CIRS scored following the guidelines was good (intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.83 and 0.81, respectively). The TSC, SV, and CM correlated with clinical features (laboratory values, medication usage, and length of in-hospital stay) and CGA variables (cognitive impairment, depression and disability). All three indices were able to predict 18-month mortality and rehospitalization rates. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the validity of the CIRS as an indicator of health status and demonstrated its ability to predict 18-month mortality and rehospitalization in hospitalized elderly patients. The availability of detailed guidelines for scoring the CIRS can improve its usefulness and facilitate more-widespread use for research and clinical aims.

Promethazine adverse events after implementation of a medication shortage interchange.

BACKGROUND: Prochlorperazine and droperidol were commonly used antiemetics at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Presbyterian Hospital until a shortage of prochlorperazine occurred and a black box warning was added to droperidol prescribing information. Subsequently, promethazine was selected as the approved intravenous antiemetic for therapeutic interchange in December 2001. Promethazine use and adverse drug events (ADEs) were investigated following review of a serious ADE that identified promethazine use as a probable contributing factor. OBJECTIVE: To illustrate ADEs associated with promethazine and characterize high-risk patients. METHODS: An ADE database analysis identified promethazine ADEs reported from 2000 to 2003. Promethazine utilization and ADEs were compared with those of other antiemetics during the pre- and post-interchange periods. RESULTS: Promethazine utilization increased significantly during the post-interchange period compared with all other antiemetics (p < 0.001). Promethazine ADEs increased from one event during the pre-interchange period to 13 events during the post-interchange period. Causality assessment using the Naranjo algorithm ranged from possible to probable. The promethazine ADE rate per 10 000 doses was significantly higher than the combined ADE rate for all other antiemetics (p < 0.001; incident rate ratio [IRR] 4.32). Elderly patients (aged > or =65 y) experienced more promethazine ADEs than younger patients (p = 0.005; IRR 4.68). Concurrent use of opioids and/or sedating drugs contributed to promethazine ADEs in 11 of 14 (78.6%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Geriatric status is a significant risk factor for promethazine ADEs. Concomitant use of sedating drugs may further increase the risk for ADEs. Therapeutic interchange programs should be monitored for both ADEs and utilization.

Skeletal integrity in patients with nail patella syndrome.

Nail patella syndrome (NPS) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder resulting from a heterogeneous loss of function in the LMX1B gene. It is associated with multiple skeletal deformities, yet it is unknown whether this is associated with osteoporosis. To examine bone mass and the prevalence of fragility fractures, we assessed bone mineral density (BMD) of the spine and hip in 31 adults and 12 children with mutation-confirmed NPS and 60 healthy age- and gender-matched adult controls. For the adults with NPS, BMD was 11-20% lower at the hip sites (P < or = 0.001) and 8% lower at the spine (P < 0.05) than that of controls. Even when adjusted for body mass index, the BMD remained significantly lower in patients with NPS in all hip regions but not in the spine. Adults with NPS also had a significantly lower Z-score (sd values from normal) at all hip sites (all P < 0.05), compared with age- and gender-matched controls in the manufacturer's database. However, children had significantly lower Z-scores only at the femoral neck and trochanter. Participants with NPS also had a higher prevalence of fractures (odds ratio 30.9, 95% confidence interval 6.4-149.6, P < 0.001) and scoliosis (odds ratio 16.0, 95% confidence interval 3.3-78.2, P < 0.001). The majority of these fractures occurred in women before puberty and in long bones, especially the clavicle. We conclude that adults with NPS have a BMD that is 8-20% lower than controls, which is associated with an increase in the prevalence of fractures and scoliosis. Future studies are needed to determine whether bone quality, geometry, or turnover could account for these findings.

Adverse Drug Events Involving COX-2 Inhibitors.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the types and severity of adverse drug-related events (ADEs) observed in patients receiving cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors and to increase the awareness of risk factors that predispose patients to ADEs associated with COX-2 inhibitors. METHODS: A review of ADEs reported at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital (UPMC-P) revealed significant events related to use of celecoxib or rofecoxib. A query of the internal ADE database was performed to identify ADEs involving COX-2 inhibitors from January 1999 to June 2002. A similar query was performed to identify ADEs involving nonselective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reported during this same time period. Utilization data were also collected. RESULTS: Forty-eight ADEs involving 24 patients receiving COX-2 inhibitors were reported and validated via the UPMC-P ADE review process compared with 38 events in 33 patients receiving nonselective NSAIDs. The types of ADEs reported as related to COX-2 inhibitors were similar to those reported in association with nonselective NSAIDs. Forty-two percent of ADEs (n = 20) involving COX-2 inhibitors and 45% of events (n = 17) involving nonselective NSAIDs were classified as severe. All patients receiving COX-2 inhibitors and 91% of patients receiving nonselective NSAIDs exhibited risk factors that increased their risk to experience an ADE; all but 1 of these patients were receiving outpatient COX-2 inhibitor therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The observed ADEs involving COX-2 inhibitors were similar to those associated with nonselective NSAIDs. Most events may have been preventable, highlighting the need for education regarding the appropriate use of COX-2 inhibitors.