Baseline metabolic monitoring of atypical antipsychotics in an inpatient setting

Abstract

Background: Atypical antipsychotic agents serve an important role in the treatment of many psychiatric disorders but have the potential to cause adverse effects, notably metabolic disturbances. These agents are known to cause increases in obesity, glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia and hypertension. In 2004, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA), in collaboration with other organizations, acknowledged the association between the use of atypical antipsychotics and the development of metabolic abnormalities and provided monitoring recommendations for the use of these agents. Despite these recommendations, rates of monitoring remain low. Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess whether a pharmacist recommendation form is effective in improving baseline metabolic monitoring for patients admitted to an acute inpatient psychiatry unit who are ordered a scheduled atypical antipsychotic. Methods: A pharmacist recommendation form with metabolic monitoring parameters was placed on the charts of patients ordered a scheduled atypical antipsychotic during a two month period. A retrospective chart review was conducted to compare the percentage of baseline monitoring ordered pre-intervention versus the intervention period. Patients ages 18 years or older who were ordered a scheduled atypical antipsychotic were included. Results: During the intervention period, there was a significant increase in documentation for presence or absence of diabetes (p = 0.018) and cardiovascular disease (p < 0.001). A significant difference in the number of orders for hemoglobin A1c (p = 0.007) and lipid panels (p < 0.001) were noted. No other significant differences were found. Conclusion: A pharmacist recommendation form was effective in improving the baseline monitoring of personal history of diabetes and cardiovascular disease and monitoring of hemoglobin A1c and lipid panels, but rates of other baseline monitoring parameters did not improve.