Drug treatment in the elderly: An intervention in primary care to enhance prescription quality and quality of life

Figures & data

Figure 1. Study flow chart.

Note: Flow chart of the study and randomization process. Dropouts for other reasons include no answer after three telephone calls, not opening the door at agreed visiting time, and no longer willing to participate.

Table I. Prescription quality.

	Group A			Group B			Group C
	Baseline	12 months	p-value	Baseline	12 months	p-value	Baseline	12 months	p-value	p-value overall
Number of drugs per patient (median)	8.0	9.0	0.029	10.0	11.0	0.655	10.0	10.0	0.454	0.382
Number of drug-risk indicators per patient (median)	2.0	2.0	0.181	2.0	2.0	0.813	2.0	2.0	0.401	0.444
Number of medication errors per patient (median)	5.0	2.0	0.099	3.0	2.0	0.031	3.0	3.0	0.862	0.331
Proportion of correct medication lists (%)	10.0	18.0	0.130	4.0	13.0	0.029	8.0	12.0	0.371	0.614
Proportion of patients with interactions of C type (%)	60.6	57.8	0.135	43.9	48.7	0.327	42.4	48.5	0.705	0.788
Proportion of patients with interactions of D type (%)	3.0	3.0	0.655	2.6	7.7	0.317	21.2	6.1	0.096	0.088

Note: For statistical analyses a Wilcoxon, chi-squared, or Kruskal–Wallis test was used.

Table II. Frequency distribution (profile) of the EQ-5D descriptive system for comparison.¹

	Group A			Group B			Group C
EQ-5D profile	Baseline (n = 47)	6 months (n = 38)	12 months (n = 34)	Baseline (n = 49)	6 months (n = 37)	12 months (n = 39)	Baseline (n = 48)	6 months (n = 35)	12 months (n = 33)
Mobility:
No problems (%)	13	19	30	14	17	18	8	18	15
Some problems (%)	79	81	64	78	83	74	83	76	76
Confined to bed (%)	8	0	6	8	0	8	8	6	9
Self-care:
No problems (%)	62	60	76	67	60	71	62	52	66
Some problems (%)	30	34	12	30	35	24	25	39	22
Unable to (%)	8	6	12	4	5	5	13	9	12
Usual activities:
No problems (%)	45	47	53	47	38	44	44	24	55
Some problems (%)	30	37	32	31	46	36	29	65	21
Unable to (%)	26	16	15	22	16	20	27	12	24
Pain/discomfort:
None (%)	28	5	23	24	16	18	25	11	24
Moderate (%)	53	63	53	51	54	54	62	74	49
Extreme (%)	19	32	24	25	30	28	13	15	27
Anxiety/depression:
None (%)	36	42	56	51	40	37	56	47	42
Moderate (%)	60	47	38	41	57	55	40	53	54
Extreme (%)	4	11	6	8	3	8	4	0	4

Note: ¹The EQ-5D index varied over time, but there were no statistically significant differences in or between the groups.

Figure 2. EQ-5D index. Note: Statistical analyses were done within and between the groups using the Friedman test and Kruskal–Wallis test. No significant difference anywhere.

Table III. Patients’ assessments of their own health-related quality of life, EQ VAS.

	Group A			Group B			Group C
	Baseline	6 months	12 months	Baseline	6 months	12 months	Baseline	6 months	12 months
Mean Q VAS score	50	55	56	51	52	54	51	52	56
(± SD)	(19)	(19)	(17)	(17)	(19)	(14)	(16)	(20)	(17)
Median EQ VAS score	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	50
(IQR)	(40–60)	(50–72)	(50–68)	(45–60)	(42–60)	(50–60)	(40–60)	(40–70)	(50–64)

Notes: Statistical analyses were done within and between the groups using the Friedman test and Kruskal–Wallis test. No significant difference anywhere.