Association of potentially inappropriate medications with outcomes of inpatient geriatric rehabilitation : A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Higher age is associated with multimorbidity, which may lead to polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate medication (PIM).

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether PIM on admission for geriatric inpatient rehabilitation is associated with rehabilitation outcome regarding mobility and quality of life.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 210 patients were included. Medications at hospital admission were analyzed with the Screening Tool of Older Persons' potentially inappropriate Prescriptions (STOPP) and the number of PIMs individual patients were taking was determined. The study population was then divided into two groups, one with and one without PIM. The main rehabilitation outcomes, quality of life and mobility, were assessed on admission and discharge. Associations between PIM and the main outcomes were analyzed using the two-tailed Student's t-test and Spearman correlations.

RESULTS: In total 131 PIMs were identified by STOPP. Of the patients 91 (43%) were taking at least 1 PIM, and 119 patients (57%) were not taking any PIM. Patients with no PIM had a significantly better quality of life on admission (p < 0.05) and discharge (p < 0.005). The number of PIMs was not associated with the rehabilitation outcomes mobility and quality of life (Spearman's ρ = -0.01, p = 0.89 and ρ = -0.02, p = 0.7, respectively). The quality of life and mobility increased identically in both groups from admission to discharge but the group with PIM did not reach the levels of those without PIM.

CONCLUSION: The use of PIM may have a negative impact on the quality of life of elderly people but patients with and without PIM achieved comparable improvements in quality of life and mobility. Further studies are required to assess the long-term outcomes of patients taking PIM following inpatient rehabilitation.