Use Of Fall-risk-increasing Drugs Research Articles

Factors Impacting Fall Severity in Hospitalized Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objectives: This retrospective case-controlled study aimed to evaluate the association between the severity of fall-related injuries and fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) in hospitalized patients. Methods: Data were collected from Changhua Christian Hospital, Taiwan, of all adult inpatients who experienced falls between January 2017 and December 2021, and were divided into two groups based on whether they sustained severe fall-related injuries. Retrospective data that may affect the severity of fall-related injuries and the use of FRIDs were investigated. Results: Among 1231 documented cases of falls, 26 patients sustained severe fall-related injuries. Older patients and those with osteoporosis were more susceptible to more severe injuries from a fall. The use of mobility aids and osteoporosis medications showed protective effects against fall injuries. No significant association was observed between fall-related injuries and comorbidities or FRIDs. Multivariate analysis confirmed the inverse correlation between the use of mobility aids, osteoporosis medications, and fall severity. Patients with osteoporosis exhibited significantly higher odds of sustaining more severe injuries with a fall (odds ratio = 3.02, 95% confidence interval: 1.21–7.53). Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of addressing risk factors associated with fall severity among hospitalized patients. Providing mobility aids to persons at greater risk.

Effect of polypharmacy and Fall-Risk-Increasing Drugs (FRIDs) on falls among Brazilian older adults: The SABE cohort study

Polypharmacy, considered as the use of multiple medications, has been one of the factors associated with a higher risk of falls among older adults. However, the association of this factor regardless of the use of Fall-Risk-Increasing Drugs (FRIDs) has not been extensively explored. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the longitudinal association of polypharmacy with falls and verify whether this association is independent of FRID use. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted with a representative sample of the urban population aged 60 years and over in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, from 2000 to 2006. The analysis of the association among polypharmacy, the use of FRIDs, and the occurrence of falls over the years was performed using Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models adjusted for covariates. Results: The association between polypharmacy and falls was significantly attenuated after the adjustment for covariates and FRIDs. Users of two or more FRIDs had higher odds of falls (OR = 1.51; CI [1.16; 1.96]). Conclusion: FRID use was associated with the occurrence of falls among older adults. The number of medications must be kept to the minimum necessary, and FRIDs should be avoided in approaches to preventing falls among older adults.

Fall-Risk-Increasing Drugs and Gait Performance in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Exploratory Results from the Gait and Brain Study.

While several psychotropic and cardiovascular drugs have been identified as fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) in older adults, the intervening mechanisms linking FRIDs and falls are unclear. It is plausible that gait performance is an intermediate variable on the causal pathway between FRIDs and falls. The current evidence on the relationship between medication use and gait performance in older adults is scarce. We aimed to assess the association between FRIDs and gait performance in community-dwelling older adults. This was a cross-sectional analysis using data from the Gait and Brain Study, a study of community-dwelling older adults aged 65years old and over (N=345). The following drug classes were assessed: antidepressants, benzodiazepines, alpha-blockers, beta-blockers, vasodilators, diuretics, statins and aspirin. Medication use was ascertained through validated questionnaires and electronic medical records. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the association between each of the drug classes and gait speed and gait variability. Gait variability was expressed as the coefficient of variation (CV=mean/standard deviation) of stride time. Models were adjusted for age, sex, education, body mass index (BMI), mini-mental status exam (MMSE) score, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) score, general activity level, use of other FRIDs and comorbidity propensity score. Diuretic use was associated with significantly reduced gait speed (B=-7.97cm/s, 95% CI: -13.94, -2.00, P=0.009). Statin use was associated with significantly increased stride time CV (B=0.13, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.24, P=0.026). Other drugs did not have a statistically significant relationship with gait speed or variability. The association between diuretic use and reduced gait speed is consistent with existing evidence on diuretic use and increased fall risk. The association between statins and increased stride time variability is notable given inconclusive evidence in previous studies. Our results provide initial estimates of the association between FRIDs and gait performance in older adults for future longitudinal studies.

BURDEN OF FALL-RISK INCREASING DRUGS IN OLDER ADULTS PRESENTING WITH FALLS TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM

Abstract Prescribing of fall-risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) may be an important driver of falls in older adults. Understanding the types and frequencies of FRIDs prescribed to older adults presenting with falls to an emergency department (ED) may help identify opportunities for deprescribing. We performed a cross sectional analysis of data collected from a pharmacist-led fall-prevention program focused on older adults presenting with a fall to an academic ED in the southeastern United States between August 2020 – December 2021. ED pharmacists identified older adults (≥65 years old) presenting with a chief complaint of ‘fall’ and then performed a medication reconciliations to verify and obtain data on outpatient prescription drug use. FRIDs were identified in accord with the 2019 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, & Injuries (STEADI-Rx) list. The ED pharmacists performed medication reconciliations on 424 unique older adults presenting with a fall. The cohort had a mean age of 81.3 years and were mostly female (63.3%) and white (84.9%). Prescription use of FRIDs were identified in 45.8% (194/424) of older adults presenting with a fall. An estimated 25.5% (108/424) of the subjects were prescribed 2 or more FRIDs. The most common FRIDs identified were antidepressants (25.9%), anticonvulsants (18.6%), opioids (12.7%), benzodiazepines (8.5%), and antipyschotics (3.1%). . Prescription use of FRIDs, including use of 2 or more FRIDs, was common in older adults presenting with a fall to the ED.

Use of fall risk-increasing drugs in older adults with multiple myeloma: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To investigate the use of fall risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) and associated factors and to assess the use of medicines that induce neuropathy in older adults with multiple myeloma (MM).Methods: Cross-sectional study with older adults with MM treated at the outpatient oncology and hematology services in a southeastern Brazilian capital. FRIDs were classified according to the Screening Tool of Older Persons Prescription in older adults with high fall risk (STOPPFall). The high risk of falling was defined using the Medication Fall Risk Score scale, and the medicines that induce neuropathy were identified according to Vilholm et al. (2014) and Jones et al. (2019). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to verify the association between variables.Results: Approximately 54.2% of the 153 older adults included in the study were female, and the median age was 70.9 years (IQR = 13; min = 60 and max:92). Around 71.3% used FRIDs, and diuretics (25.6%), antidepressants (20.5%), and opioids (19.9%) were the most used. A total of 32.7% had a high risk of falling. Polypharmacy was associated with a higher risk of using FRIDs. Statins used concomitantly with immunomodulators or bortezomib were the most used neuropathyinducing drugs, increasing fourfold the likelihood of reporting peripheral neuropathy.Conclusion: The frequency of use of FRIDs is high in older adults with MM and is positively associated with polypharmacy.

The Use of Fall Risk-Increasing Drugs among Older People in Nursing Homes

The Use of Fall Risk-Increasing Drugs among Older People in Nursing Homes

In older adults with a history of falls, interventions to reduce use of fall risk-increasing drugs do not reduce falls.

Hart LA, Phelan EA, Yi JY, Marcum ZA, Gray SL. Use of fall risk-increasing drugs around a fall-related injury in older adults: a systematic review. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020. [Epub ahead of print]. 32064594.

141 Fall-Risk Increasing Drugs use in Elderly with Fall-Related Fractures

Abstract Introduction Elderly populations are at the highest risk of fatal falls and fracture is one of the fall-related injuries which results in high morbidity and mortality. A group of drugs have been identified as the fall risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) and listed as one of the modifiable extrinsic risk factors for falls. This study aimed to determine the use of FRIDs in fall-related fractures among elderly patients. Method Patients aged 65 years and above admitted to a tertiary teaching hospital due to falls were included. Falls were identified through a case-mix system using the ICD-10 codes of W01 and W18 (fall at the same level). Patient medical records were reviewed retrospectively and drugs use before the falls were analysed. Results Among the patients included (n=124), majority of them had fall-related fractures (83.1%) and hip fractures were among the highest type of fractures (67%). The older old (≥ 80 years) had recorded a significant higher incidence of hip fractures compared to the younger individuals (p=0.009). About 75% of the patients with fall-related fractures had recorded use of at least one FRID before the admission. The younger individuals had significantly higher use of FRIDs compared to the older old, particularly the anti-hypertensive drugs (p=0.017). Most of them (>80%) still received FRIDs at discharge and deprescribing was commenced in less than one quarter of the patients. Furthermore, 32.6% of them had either an addition of new FRIDs or increased of the FRIDs dose at discharge. Conclusion In conclusion, fracture was the major reason of admissions among the elderly with falls. The older old recorded higher incidence of fall-related hip fractures. There was high usage of FRIDs before and after fall-related fractures. Deprescribing was not widely practiced in the elderly after the fall incidence.

138 The use of Fall Risk-Increasing Drugs among Older People in Nursing Home

Abstract Medication use has been one of the modifiable risk factors in causing falls. Falls are the leading cause of injury among older people. The incidence of falls will greatly impact the independence of the older people to carry out normal activity. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of drugs causing falls and the fall risk status among older people residing in nursing homes. A cross-sectional study was conducted among residents in 27 long term care facilities in Malaysia from March 2018 until November 2018 using a researcher-assisted questionnaire. In this study, 212 elderly residents were recruited and further categorized into frail (6.6%, n=14), pre-frail (57.5%, n= 122) and robust (35.8%, n=76). The frailty status was found to be significantly associated with the risk of falling (p < 0.001). Of all residents recruited, 68.4% (n=145) were taking at least one FRIDs or orthostatic drugs. Antipsychotics and calcium channel blockers were the most frequently used FRIDs. Length of stay in facilities (<1 year), frailty status, number of medication, use of CCB or RAS inhibitors are associated with an increased risk of falling (p<0.05). Therefore majority of the older people residing in nursing homes were prone to the use of fall-risk medications, particularly ODs. Frail older people had a greater risk in falling compared to those who were non-frail.

Pharmacotherapy as major risk factor of falls - analysis of 12 months experience in hospitals in South Bohemia

This study aimed to analyze the effect of fall risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) and drug-related factors relative to falls through clinical pharmacy service in hospitalized patients, focusing on the relevance of clinical pharmacist evaluation in the context of physician assessment. A prospective study of inpatient falls was conducted in 2017 retrieving data from 4 hospitals in South Bohemia, Czech Republic. An online database was developed to collect patient and fall-related data, and fall evaluation records. Healthcare professionals classified the overall effect of drugs on falls using Likert scale. Univariate and multivariate correlations were performed with a significance level of p < 0.05. Out of the total 280 falls (mean age of patients 77.0 years), a mean of 2.8 diagnoses with fall-related risk, 8.8 drugs, and 4.1 FRIDs per fall were identified. Incidence of falls decreased quarterly (p < 0.001). Use of FRIDs were positively associated with increasing age (p = 0.007). Clinical pharmacists were more likely to identify pharmacotherapy as the relevant fall-related risk, compared to physicians evaluation (p < 0.001). An increasing total number of prescribed drugs as well as higher number of FRIDs increased the suspicion in both professionals in the context of drug-related causes of falls.

Fall-risk increasing drugs and recurrent injurious falls association in older patients after hip fracture: a cohort study protocol.

Polypharmacy and fall-risk increasing drugs (FRIDS) have been associated with injurious falls. However, no information is available about the association between FRIDS and injurious falls after hospital discharge due to hip fracture in a very old population. We aim to assess the association between the use of FRIDS at discharge and injurious falls in patients older than 80 years hospitalized due to a hip fracture. A retrospective cohort study using routinely collected health data will be conducted at the Orthogeriatric Unit of a teaching hospital. Patients will be included at hospital discharge (2014), with a 2-year follow-up. Fall-risk increasing drugs will be recorded at hospital discharge, and exposure to drugs will be estimated from usage records during the 2-year follow-up. Injurious falls are defined as falls that lead to any kind of health care (primary or specialized care, including emergency department visits and hospital admissions). A sample size of 193 participants was calculated, assuming that 40% of patients who receive any FRID at discharge, and 20% who do not, will experience an injurious fall during follow up. This protocol explains the study methods and the planned analysis. We expect to find a relevant association between FRIDS at hospital discharge and the incidence of injurious falls in this very old, high risk population. If confirmed, this would support the need for a careful pharmacotherapeutic review in patients discharged after a hip fracture. However, results should be carefully interpreted due to the risk of bias inherent to the study design.

Study of fall risk-increasing drugs in elderly patients before and after a bone fracture

BackgroundAccidental falls have a significant economic and human impact. The use of certain drugs is one of the modifiable risk factors associated with these events.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was...

Elderly users of fall-risk-increasing drug perceptions of fall risk and the relation to their drug use – a qualitative study

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore how home-dwelling elderly who use fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) perceive their fall risk and how they relate this to their drug use.Design, setting and subjects: A qualitative study with 14 home-dwelling elderly FRID users between 65 and 97 years in Central Norway participating in semi-structured individual interviews. The data were analyzed thematically by using systematic text condensation.Results: The main finding was that the informants did not necessarily perceive the use of FRIDs to be a prominent risk factor for falls. Some informants said they did not reflect upon drug use whatsoever and said they fully trusted their physician’s choices. When either experiencing dizziness, fall episodes or by reading the patient information leaflet the informants said to either adjust their drug use or to contact their physician. Some felt rejected due to not getting their point across or their wish to alter the drug was not granted by the physician.Conclusions: Elderly FRID users did not necessarily relate their drug use to fall risk or struggled to present their perceived drug-related problems. Physicians need to regularly inform, monitor and assess the drug treatment when treating elderly with FRIDs.

Do fall-risk-increasing drugs have an impact on mortality in older hip fracture patients? A population-based cohort study.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the mortality in hip fracture patients with regard to use of fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs), by comparing survival in exposed and nonexposed individuals.DesignThis was a general population-based cohort study.SettingsData on hip fracture patients were retrieved from three national databases.ParticipantsAll hip fracture patients aged 60 years or older in a Swedish county in 2006 participated in this study.MeasurementsWe studied the mortality in hip fracture patients by comparing those exposed to FRIDs, combinations of FRIDs, and polypharmacy to nonexposed patients, adjusting for age and sex. For survival estimates in patients using four or more FRIDs, a Cox regression analysis was used, adjusting for age, sex, and use of any four or more drugs.ResultsFirst-year all-cause mortality was 24.6% (N=503) in 2,043 hip fracture patients aged 60 years or older, including 170 males (33.8%) and 333 females (66.2%). Patients prescribed four or more FRIDs, five or more drugs (polypharmacy), psychotropic drugs, and cardiovascular drugs showed significantly increased first-year mortality. Exposure to four or more FRIDs (518 patients, 25.4%) was associated with an increased mortality at 30 days with odds ratios (ORs) 2.01 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.44–2.79), 90 days with OR 1.56 (95% CI 1.19–2.04), 180 days with OR 1.54 (95% CI 1.20–1.97), and 365 days with OR 1.43 (95% CI 1.13–1.80). Cox regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, and use of any four or more drugs showed a significantly higher mortality in patients treated with four or more FRIDs at 90 days (P=0.015) and 180 days (P=0.012) compared to patients treated with three or less FRIDs.ConclusionFirst-year all-cause mortality was significantly higher in older hip fracture patients exposed before the fracture to FRIDs, in particular to four or more FRIDs, polypharmacy, psychotropic, and cardiovascular drugs. Interventions aiming to optimize both safety and benefit of drug treatment for older people should include limiting the use of FRIDs.

Use of fall risk increasing drugs in residents of retirement villages: a pilot study of long term care and retirement home residents in Ontario, Canada.

BackgroundFalls continue to be a problem for older people in long-term care (LTC) and retirement home (RH) settings and are associated with significant morbidity and health care use. Fall-risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) are known to increase fall risk and represent modifiable risk factors. There are limited data regarding the use of FRIDs in contemporary LTC and RH settings, and it has not been well documented to what extent medication regimens are reviewed and modified for those who have sustained falls. The objective of this study is to characterize medication related fall risk factors in LTC and RH residents and on-going use of medications known to increase fall risk.MethodsRetrospective chart review of residents aged >65 who sustained one or more falls living in LTC or RH settings.Results105 residents who fell one or more times during 2009–2010 were identified with a mean age of 89 years, a mean of nine scheduled medications and seven diagnoses, and 83 % were women. Residents in LTC were ostensibly at higher risk for falls relative to those in RH settings as suggested by higher proportion of residents with multiple falls, multiple comorbidities, comorbidities that increase fall risk and visual impairment. Post fall injuries were sustained by 42 % of residents, and residents in RH sustained more injuries relative to LTC residents (47 vs 34 %). Use of FRIDs such as benzodiazepines, antipsychotic, antidepressant and various antihypertensive drugs was common in the present sample. No medication regimen changes were noted in the 6-month post fall period.ConclusionsThe present study documented common use FRIDs by LTC and RH residents with multiple falls. These potentially modifiable falls risk factors are not being adequately addressed in contemporary practice, demonstrating that there is much room for improvement with regards to the safe and appropriate use of medications in LTC and RH residents.

Factors influencing prescribing of fall-risk-increasing drugs to the elderly: A qualitative study

Objective. Explore the situations in which GPs associate drug use with falls among their elderly patients, and the factors influencing the prescribing and cessation of fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs). Design. A qualitative study with 13 GPs who participated in two semi-structured focus groups in Central Norway. Participants were encouraged to share overall thoughts on the use of FRIDs among elderly patients and stories related to prescribing and cessation of FRIDs in their own practice. Results. The main finding was that GPs did not immediately perceive the use of FRIDs to be a prominent factor regarding falls in elderly patients, exceptions being when the patient presented with dizziness, reported a fall, or when prescribing FRIDs for the first time. It was reported as common to renew prescriptions without performing a drug review. Factors influencing the prescribing and cessation of FRIDs were categorized into GPs’ clinical work conditions, uncertainty about outcome of changing prescriptions, patients’ prescribing demands, and lack of patient information. Conclusions. The results from this study indicate that GPs need to be reminded that there is a connection between FRID use and falls among elderly patients of enough clinical relevance to remember to assess the patient's drug list and perform regular drug reviews.

Is use of fall risk-increasing drugs in an elderly population associated with an increased risk of hip fracture, after adjustment for multimorbidity level: a cohort study.

BackgroundRisk factors for hip fracture are well studied because of the negative impact on patients and the community, with mortality in the first year being almost 30% in the elderly. Age, gender and fall risk-increasing drugs, identified by the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden, are well known risk factors for hip fracture, but how multimorbidity level affects the risk of hip fracture during use of fall risk-increasing drugs is to our knowledge not as well studied. This study explored the relationship between use of fall risk-increasing drugs in combination with multimorbidity level and risk of hip fracture in an elderly population.MethodsData were from Östergötland County, Sweden, and comprised the total population in the county aged 75 years and older during 2006. The odds ratio (OR) for hip fracture during use of fall risk-increasing drugs was calculated by multivariate logistic regression, adjusted for age, gender and individual multimorbidity level. Multimorbidity level was estimated with the Johns Hopkins ACG Case-Mix System and grouped into six Resource Utilization Bands (RUBs 0–5).Results2.07% of the study population (N = 38,407) had a hip fracture during 2007. Patients using opioids (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.34-1.82), dopaminergic agents (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.24-2.55), anxiolytics (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.11-1.54), antidepressants (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.42-1.95) or hypnotics/sedatives (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.13-1.52) had increased ORs for hip fracture after adjustment for age, gender and multimorbidity level. Vasodilators used in cardiac diseases, antihypertensive agents, diuretics, beta-blocking agents, calcium channel blockers and renin-angiotensin system inhibitors were not associated with an increased OR for hip fracture after adjustment for age, gender and multimorbidity level.ConclusionsUse of fall risk-increasing drugs such as opioids, dopaminergic agents, anxiolytics, antidepressants and hypnotics/sedatives increases the risk of hip fracture after adjustment for age, gender and multimorbidity level. Fall risk-increasing drugs, high age, female gender and multimorbidity level, can be used to identify high-risk patients who could benefit from a medication review to reduce the risk of hip fracture.

Medication and fall injury in the elderly population; do individual demographics, health status and lifestyle matter?

BackgroundThe simultaneous use of several medications is an important risk factor for injurious falls in older people. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the number of medications dispensed to elderly persons on fall injuries and to assess whether this relationship is explained by individual demographics, health habits and health status.MethodsA population-based, nested, case–control study on people 65 years and older (N = 20.906) was conducted using data from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort (SPHC) derived from self-administered surveys and linked at the individual level with various Swedish health registers. Fall injuries leading to hospitalization recorded in the Swedish National Patient Register (NPR) were considered as the outcome. The main exposure, obtained from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (SPDR), was the number of medications dispensed within 90 days prior to the injurious fall. The injury risk was estimated using adjusted odds ratios (ORs) from logistic regression. Results were adjusted by selected demographic, social circumstances, lifestyle and health status data extracted from the SPHC.ResultsAfter adjusting for common risk factors within demographics, lifestyle, social circumstances and health status, using more than one medication increased the risk of fall injury but no clear dose–response relationship was observed, with point estimates ranging from 1.5-1.7 for the use of two, three, four or five or more medications as compared to using none. An increased risk remained, and was even elevated, after adjusting for the use of fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs).ConclusionsUsing more than one medication affects the risk of injurious falls among older people. The effect of any given number of medications studied remains and is even strengthened after adjusting for individual demographics, health habits, health conditions and the use of FRIDs.

Effects of drug pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties, characteristics of medication use, and relevant pharmacological interventions on fall risk in elderly patients

Effects of drug pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties, characteristics of medication use, and relevant pharmacological interventions on fall risk in elderly patients Ying Chen,1 Ling-Ling Zhu,2 Quan Zhou3 1Liaison Office of Geriatric VIP Patients, 2First Geriatric VIP Ward, Division of Nursing, 3Department of Pharmacy, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People&rsquo;s Republic of China Background: Falls among the elderly are an issue internationally and a public health problem that brings substantial economic and quality-of-life burdens to individuals and society. Falls prevention is an important measure of nursing quality and patient safety. Numerous studies have evaluated the association of medication use with fall risk in elderly patients. However, an up-to-date review has not been available to summarize the multifaceted pharmaceutical concerns in the prevention of medication-related falls. Materials and methods: Relevant literature was identified by performing searches in PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, covering the period until February 2014. We included studies that described an association between medications and falls, and effects of drug pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties, characteristics of medication use, and pharmacological interventions on fall risk in elderly patients. The full text of each included article was critically reviewed, and data interpretation was performed. Results: Fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) include central nervous system-acting agents, cough preparations, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-Alzheimer&rsquo;s agents, antiplatelet agents, calcium antagonists, diuretics, &alpha;-blockers, digoxin, hypoglycemic drugs, neurotoxic chemotherapeutic agents, nasal preparations, and antiglaucoma ophthalmic preparations. The degree of medication-related fall risk was dependent on one or some of the following factors: drug pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic properties (eg, elimination half-life, metabolic pathway, genetic polymorphism, risk rating of medications despite belonging to the same therapeutic class) and/or characteristics of medication use (eg, number of medications and drug&ndash;drug interactions, dose strength, duration of medication use and time since stopping, medication change, prescribing appropriateness, and medication adherence). Pharmacological interventions, including withdrawal of FRIDs, pharmacist-conducted clinical medication review, and computerized drug alerts, were effective in reducing fall risk. Conclusion: Based on the literature review, clear practical recommendations for clinicians to prevent falls in the elderly included making a list of FRIDs, establishing a computerized alert system for when to e-prescribe FRIDs, seeking an alternative drug with lower fall risk, withdrawing FRIDs if clinically indicated, taking pertinent cautions when the use of FRIDs cannot be avoidable, paying attention to prescribing appropriateness, simplifying the medication regimen, strengthening pharmacist-conducted clinical medication review, ensuring the label of each FRID dispensed contains a corresponding warning sign, being careful when medication change occurs, enhancing medication adherence, and mandating for periodic reassessment of potential risk associated with the patient&#39;s medication regimen. Further studies should be conducted in this area, such as investigating whether medication reconciliation and improving medication adherence could decrease the rate of falls. Keywords: falls, geriatrics, medication, medication adherence, prescribing, risk, safe medication use

Authors’ Reply to Toda: “The Effects of Fall-Risk-Increasing Drugs on Postural Control: A Literature Review”

We thank Dr. Toda [1] for his interesting question. Dr. Toda asked, in response to our literature review [2], whether psychotropic drugs with longer half-lives are more likely to increase fall risk than psychotropic drugs with shorter half-lives. In our paper [2], we concluded that psychotropic fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) cause impairments in postural control, which is probably one of the mediating factors for the increased fall risk with which these FRIDs are associated. The effects of psychotropic FRIDs on postural control are more pronounced when people are of higher age, use psychotropics at higher daily dosages, for a longer period of time, and when the half-life of the drug is longer. By the latter, we mean that the effects on postural control of benzodiazepines with intermediate to long half-lives ([8 h) sustain for a longer period of time after taking the drug (the so-called hangover effect). Regrettably, since we only examined the effects of FRIDs on postural control [2]—not on fall risk—we cannot conclude whether psychotropic drugs with a longer half-life are more likely to increase the risk of falling than psychotropics with a shorter elimination time. However, an interesting study by De Vries et al. [3] has recently been published, examining prospectively whether long-acting benzodiazepines are associated with a higher fall risk than short-acting benzodiazepines. The findings of De Vries et al. [3] are in line with the meta-analysis of Leipzig et al. [4], namely that the use of short-acting benzodiazepines is not associated with a lower fall risk compared with long-acting benzodiazepines. Remarkably, it must be noted that the cut-off defining short and long half-life differs in studies: for instance, we defined short half-life as B8 h [2], De Vries et al. [3] defined it as B10 h, and Leipzig et al. [4] as B24 h. Thus, it can be stated that both shortand long-acting psychotropics increase the risk of falling in older people, the former not more than the latter. However, we can speculate about the moment and location of fall incidents caused by psychotropic FRIDs. For example, it can be hypothesized that short-acting benzodiazepines (mainly hypnotics) increase the risk of falling during the night, for instance when walking to the toilet because of nocturia (the nightly effects); while longacting benzodiazepines (mainly anxiolytics) may increase the risk of falling both during the night and daytime because of residual daytime sleepiness (the hangover effect). Nevertheless, the use of psychotropic FRIDs, both with short and long half-lives, should be discouraged in the older population, and when administered, only at the lowest effective dose and for a limited period of time.