Pharmacy practice, research, education, and advocacy for older adults.

In the United States, older adults have become the fastest growing segment of the population and are expected to double in number to 70 million by 2030. As a whole, older adults have different health care needs than younger patients, and some of these needs should be met by pharmacists. Clinical pharmacy practice affecting older adults occurs in a variety of settings, including community, ambulatory care, primary care, hospital, assisted living, nursing home, home health care, hospice, and Alzheimer's disease units. Although specialty training in geriatrics or gerontology is not required for pharmacists to care for older adults, it is extremely helpful. Pharmacy education related to the care of older adults has improved slightly in the past several years but will need to increase even more to provide all pharmacists with the basic skills and knowledge to care for this unique group of patients. In addition, pharmacotherapy research targeting older adults needs to increase. Although it can be challenging, funding for this type of research is available. Patient and political advocacy is also important to support this growing population.

Retrospective review of megestrol use for weight loss in an elderly veteran population.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the efficacy of megestrol acetate therapy for nonmalignancy and/or non-AIDS-related weight loss in the elderly. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: Inpatients or outpatients at the West Palm Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center. PATIENTS: Two inclusion criteria were applied: patients older than 65 years and patients initiated on megestrol therapy from January 1 to December 31, 2002. All eligible patients meeting the above criteria were eligible for inclusion in the study. Patients who had a diagnosis of malignancy and/or AIDS, no baseline weight, no follow-up weights, no record of laboratory values, and/or were receiving enteral or parenteral nutrition available at the West Palm Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center, were excluded. Patients who received megestrol therapy for less than one week also were excluded. MEASUREMENTS: Weight loss in the previous six months, baseline weight, follow-up weights at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after megestrol initiation, baseline and follow-up albumin for 12 months after megestrol initiation, and any adverse effects from megestrol. RESULTS: Fifty-seven patients (males 56, females 1) were included. The average age was 78.5 years old. The average duration of therapy was 3.2 months, and the average starting dose of megestrol was 436 mg per day. At baseline, patients were, on average, 102% of their ideal body weight. Baseline measurement of albumin was obtained in 89% (N = 23) of patients. Six out of 23 (26%) patients had a baseline albumin less than 3 g/dL. The average baseline albumin was 3.6. Weight loss in the six months prior to megestrol initiation occurred in 63% of patients. Over the 12-month follow-up period, the percentage of patients who gained weight was 40%, lost weight was 49%, and had no change in weight was 11%. There were no differences in baseline characteristics between the patients who did or did not gain weight during the 12-month period after megestrol initiation. No documented adverse side effects were attributed to megestrol. CONCLUSION: Patients both gained and lost weight when receiving megestrol therapy. There was no difference between the patients who did or did not gain weight using objective measures of weight loss.

The use of gabapentin for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia.

BACKGROUND: Varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox and can reemerge later in life to cause herpes zoster or shingles. One of the most common and disabling complications of herpes zoster is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). OBJECTIVES: This article reviews the current primary literature about the efficacy and tolerability of gabapentin for the treatment of PHN. Gabapentin pharmacokinetics and drug interactions are also reviewed. METHODS: A literature search in the English language was conducted using OVID Web, which contained the following databases: MEDLINE (1966-present), EMBASE (1980-2002), Current Contents/Clinical Medicine (1999-2002), Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (1898-present), Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews (fourth quarter, 2002), and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970-2002). Search terms used were postherpetic neuralgia; zoster; gabapentin; neuropathic pain; pain; pharmacoeconomic; cost; controlled clinical trial; randomized, controlled trial; postherpetic neuralgia and gabapentin; gabapentin and pain; treatment and postherpetic neuralgia; gabapentin and age; gabapentin and gender; gabapentin and ethnicity; and gabapentin and pharmacokinetics. RESULTS: Gabapentin displays nonlinear absorption kinetics, is minimally protein bound (< 3%), has a high mean (SD) volume of distribution (50.4 [8.0] L), and is excreted via the kidneys as unchanged drug. Two randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicenter clinical trials demonstrated the effectiveness of gabapentin at doses of up to 3600 mg/d to significantly reduce pain (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001), improve sleep (P < 0.01), and improve some parameters on the Short Form-McGill Pain Questionnaire (P < 0.05). Dizziness and somnolence were the most common side effects leading to withdrawal from the trials. The recommended dosage in adults is 300 mg at bedtime on day 1,300 mg BID on day 2, and 300 mg TID on day 3, titrating up as needed to 2400 to 3600 mg/d. To reduce adverse events in patients with renal impairment, the dose should be adjusted based on the patient's creatinine clearance. CONCLUSIONS: Gabapentin appears to be effective and well tolerated for the short-term treatment of PHN. However, future controlled studies are needed to determine whether the effectiveness of gabapentin for PHN is maintained for > 2 months, to establish the optimal dose of gabapentin for PHN, and to compare the efficacy of gabapentin with that of other pharmacologic agents used for the treatment of PHN.