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Medication changes
Total population
From baseline to follow-up, 255 medication changes were effectuated, of
which 83% (n=212) were deprescribing, 15% (n=38) were new
prescriptions, and 2% (n=5) involved other medication changes (i.e.,
dose increase or change in dosing interval). The median ( [IQR])
medication changes per patient was 2 [2-4]. Medication changes were
maintained for 88.5% (n=77) of patients at follow-up and partly
maintained for 10.3% (n=9) (e.g., if several changes were made for one
patient, but only some of these changes were maintained). For one
patient, the suggested medication changes were not implemented for
unknown reasons.
Care home residents
In the care home residents, 93 medication changes were made, including
83% deprescribing (n=77), 15% new prescriptions (n=14), and 2% other
medication changes (n=2) (dose increase). Medication changes were
maintained for 92.5% (n=25) of patients at follow-up and partly
maintained for 7.5% (n=2). For one care home resident, treatment with
an antidepressant was stopped as part of the intervention. However, as
this resulted in reduced functional level, the antidepressant was
re-prescribed, and the patient returned to a stable functional level.
Community-dwelling patients with chronic
disease
In the community-dwelling patients, 162 medication changes were made,
hereof 83% deprescribing (n=135), 15% new prescription (n=24), and 2%
other medication changes (n=3) (dose increase or change in dosing
interval). Medication changes were maintained for 87% (n=52) of
patients at follow-up and partly maintained for 12% (n=7). For one
patient, the changes were not executed for unknown reasons.
Health-related outcomes
Health-related outcomes for the total study population and the two
sub-groups are presented in Table 2. In the total study population, mean
self-reported health status significantly increased, while the
proportions of patients with general condition rated as “average or
above” and with functional level rated as “without any disability”
remained stable. Overall, the subgroup analyses showed similar trends in
self-reported health status and functional level, although statistical
significance was only reached for self-reported health status in
community-dwelling patients due to the small sample size of the
sub-groups. Noteworthy, among care home residents, the proportion of
patients with general condition rated as ”average or above” increase
non-significantly with 18.5 percentage points, in contrast to no
difference among community-dwelling patients.