Medications Associated With Geriatric Syndromes (MAGS) and Hospitalization Risk in Home Health Care Patients.
Jinjiao Wang, Jenny Y Shen, Fang Yu and 7 others
PMID 35490716WHAT IT FOUND
In home health patients, higher counts of medications linked to geriatric syndromes were not linked to hospitalization overall.
However, patients with both high counts and 10 or more diagnoses had 2.3-fold higher hospitalization risk.
Key findings
01The study analyzed 6882 home health patients, and 41% of their active medications were linked to geriatric syndromes.
02Higher quartiles of medications linked to geriatric syndromes were not significantly associated with hospitalization risk during the home health episode.
03Patients with 10 or more diagnoses and the highest quartile of medications linked to geriatric syndromes had a 2.3-fold increase in hospitalization risk compared with patients with fewer than 10 diagnoses and the lowest quartile.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Data came from a single New York agency, so results may not apply elsewhere. Medication information came from the first home health nursing visit. The design cannot show that medications caused hospitalization, and causes of hospitalization were unknown. Follow-up was limited to the studied home health episode. Nearly all patients used medications linked to geriatric syndromes, which may have made it hard to detect a difference.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that medications linked to geriatric syndromes caused hospitalization or that a single medication is responsible. The overall association was not significant, and patients used many medications, so the contribution of any medication cannot be separated.