SynthesisInternational journal of clinical pharmacy2026
Association of potentially inappropriate medications with rehospitalisation and death within three months in older patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in International journal of clinical pharmacy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Medication Appropriateness and Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Older Critical Care Patients: A Scoping Review.Drugs & aging · 2026Review
- Incidence and duration of hospital-initiated opioids, benzodiazepines and antipsychotics: a retrospective cohort study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Identification of Training Needs and Development of a Work-Integrated Training Program for Aged Care On-Site Pharmacists: Protocol for a Co-Design Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionPotentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are medications with an unfavourable risk-benefit profile for patients aged ≥ 65 years. Currently, several screening tools are available and are used in clinical practice to identify PIMs.
aimOur objective was to systematically synthesize the available evidence on the association between potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), as identified by various screening tools including STOPP/START and the Beers Criteria, and the outcomes of rehospitalization and mortality within three months in older patients.
methodAdhering to Cochrane standards, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the outcomes of patients aged 65 years and older, comparing those with at least one PIM identified by any explicit screening tool to those without PIMs. Primary outcomes were readmission and/or death within three months. The databases of Embase, MEDLINE, and CENTRAL were searched for retrospective as well as prospective observational studies published between 1991 and May 17 2024. The risk of bias was assessed for all included studies.
resultsIn total, 1,642 studies were identified through the systematic search. Nine observational studies were included in this review. Our analysis revealed a statistically significant association between the overall presence of PIMs and rehospitalisation; odds ratio (OR) 1.47 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02 to 2.13, p = 0.045]. While stratification according to STOPP/START criteria yielded a statistically significant OR of 1.84 [CI 1.08 to 3.12, p = 0.024; n = 5], no statistically significant difference was seen according to Beers list [OR 1.25, CI 0.86 to 1.81, p = 0.235; n = 5]. Furthermore, no significant association was found between PIMs and mortality in either the overall analysis or the stratification according to the Beers and STOPP/START criteria. The risk of bias in the included studies was moderate to serious, and the certainty of evidence was very low.
conclusionThe use of PIM screening tools during medication evaluations may reduce the risk of rehospitalisation and potentially lower mortality in older patients. However, further studies are warranted to confirm the association with adverse outcomes.
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