Abstract
Aim: this scoping review was designed to identify studies that assess adverse drug reactions (ADRs) for older people in Australian aged care facilities. This review critically evaluates each published study to identify the risk of, or actual, adverse drug events in older people. Inclusion criteria: this review considered any clinical studies that examined the adverse effects of medications in older people who were living in aged care facilities. This review considered qualitative studies, analytical studies, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), descriptive cross-sectional studies, and analytic observational studies that explored the use of medications and their adverse effects on older people in clinical settings (including aged care facilities). Methods: an initial search of the PubMed (United State National Library of Medicine), OvidSP, EBSCOHost, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online, SAGE, and SCOPUS databases, with full text was performed, followed by an analysis of the article’s title and abstract. Additionally, MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) was used to describe the article. The initial round of the database search was based on inclusion criteria from studies that assessed tools or protocols aiming to identify the adverse effects of medications on the elderly population suffering chronic conditions or multiple co-morbidities. Two reviewers screened the retrieved papers for inclusion. The data presented in this review are in tabular forms and accompanied by a narrative summary which aligns with the review’s objectives. Results: seven studies were identified, and the extracted data from these studies were grouped according their characteristics and the auditing results of each study. Conclusion: it would be beneficial to design a comprehensive or broadly adverse drug reaction assessment tool derived from Australian data that has been used on the elderly in an Australian healthcare setting.
Highlights
In 2050, there will be over one million Australians living in aged care facilities [1]
One of the major causes of Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) arises from inappropriate prescribing cascades, whereby a new medication is given to manage the adverse effect of that inappropriate drug, exposing the patient to continued risks of ADRs from culprit drugs and the newly prescribed drug [5]
(42 articles), the study included paediatrics (24 articles), the study was duplicated (45 articles), the study used single medications only (51 articles), the study included participants younger than 65 years old (28 articles), the primary objective was not adverse effects of medication (31 articles), the study was not in English, the study focused on experimental medicines, and the study was in phase III of a clinical trial
Summary
In 2050, there will be over one million Australians living in aged care facilities [1]. Half of this population is predicted to have cognitive impairment, while the remainder are likely to suffer from one or more chronic diseases such as depression, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and rheumatological conditions [1]. Numerous tools and protocols are available to assess the side effects of medication in aged care facilities. They are often specific to certain medical conditions. The adverse drug reaction (ADR) symptoms may be incorrectly interpreted as a primary diagnosis rather than as side effects of the medications [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
