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. 2014 Jun 12;14:72. doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-14-72

Table 2.

Prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing by individual STOPP criteria among older people in CPRD

Criteria description Number of patients (N = 1,019,491) % of patients (95% CIs)
Cardiovascular system
 
 
Digoxin > 125 mcg/day (increased risk of toxicity) a
9327
0.9 (0.8-0.9)
Thiazide diuretics with gout (exacerbates gout)
6094
0.6 (0.6-0.6)
Beta-blocker + verapamil (risk of symptomatic heart block)
503
0.05 (0.05-0.05)
Aspirin + Warfarin without a PPI/ H2RA (high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding)
3616
0.4 (0.3 -0.4)
Dipyridamole as monotherapy for cardiovascular secondary prevention (no evidence of efficacy)
2137
0.2 (0.2-0.2)
Aspirin > 150 mg/day ( increased bleeding risk)
5128
0.5 (0.5-0.5)
Loop diuretic for dependent ankle oedema only i.e. no clinical signs of heart failure (no evidence of efficacy, compression hosiery usually more appropriate)
25843
2.54 (2.5-2.6)
Loop diuretic as first-line monotherapy for hypertension (safer, more effective alternatives available)
7128
0.7 (0.7-0.7)
Non-cardioselective beta-blocker with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (risk of bronchospasm)
353
0.03 (0.03-0.03)
Calcium channel blockers with chronic constipation (may exacerbate constipation)
16826
1.6 (1.6-1.7)
Aspirin with a past history of peptic ulcer disease without histamine H2 receptor antagonist or Proton Pump Inhibitor (risk of bleeding)
3912
0.4 (0.4-0.4)
Aspirin with no history of coronary, cerebral or peripheral vascular symptoms or occlusive arterial event (not indicated)
115576
11.3 (11.3-11.4)
Central Nervous System
 
 
TCAs with dementia (worsening cognitive impairment)
354
0.03 (0.03-0.03)
TCAs with glaucoma (exacerbate glaucoma)
354
0.03 (0.03-0.03)
TCAs with opioid or calcium channel blocker (risk of severe constipation)
26649
2.6 (2.6-2.6)
Long-term (>1 month) long-acting benzodiazepines (risk of prolonged sedation, confusion, impaired balance, falls)
15057
1.5 (1.5-1.5)
Long-term (>1 month) neuroleptics (antipsychotics) ( risk of confusion, hypotension, extrapyramidal side-effects, falls)
21012
2.1 (2.1-2.1)
Long- term (>1 month) neuroleptics with parkinsonism (worsen extrapyramidal symptoms)
852
0.1 (0.1-0.1)
Anticholinergics to treat extrapyramidal symptoms of neuroleptic medications (risk of anticholinergic toxicity)
869
0.1 (0.1-1.0)
Phenothiazines with epilepsy (may lower seizure threshold)
448
0.04 (0.04-0.04)
Prolonged use (>1 week) of first-generation anti-histamines (risk of sedation and anti-cholinergic side-effects)
6020
0.6 (0.6-0.6)
TCA’s with cardiac conductive abnormalities
543
0.05 (0.05-0.05)
TCA’s with prostatism or prior history of urinary retention (risk of urinary retention)
2623
0.3 (0.3-0.3)
TCA’s with constipation (likely to worsen constipation)
7279
0.7 (0.7-0.7)
Gastrointestinal System
 
 
Prochlorperazine or metoclopramide with parkinsonism (risk of exacerbating parkinsonism)
385
0.04 (0.04)
PPI for peptic ulcer disease at maximum therapeutic dosage for > 8 weeks (dose reduction or earlier discontinuation indicated)
38153
3.7 (3.7-3.8)
Anticholinergic antispasmodic drugs with chronic constipation (risk of exacerbation of constipation)
1208
0.1 (0.1-0.1)
Respiratory system
 
 
Systemic corticosteroids instead of inhaled corticosteroids for maintenance therapy in moderate-severe COPD (unnecessary exposure to long-term side-effects of systemic steroids)
1339
0.1 (0.1-0.1)
Nebulised ipatropium with glaucoma ( exacerbate glaucoma )
20
0
Musculoskeletal system
 
 
Long term NSAID use (>3 months) with osteoarthritis (simple analgesics preferable)
12167
1.2 (1.2-1.2)
Warfarin and NSAID use (risk of gastrointestinal bleeding)
2495
0.2 (0.2-0.3)
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with history of peptic ulcer disease or gastrointestinal bleeding, unless with concurrent histamine H2 receptor antagonist, PPI or misoprostol (risk of peptic ulcer relapse)
1040
0.1 (0.1-0.1)
NSAID with heart failure (risk of exacerbation of heart failure)
409
0.04 (0.04-0.04)
NSAID with chronic renal failure (risk of deterioration in renal function)
928
0.1 (0.1-0.1)
Long-term corticosteroids (>3 months) as monotherapy for rheumatoid arthrtitis or osteoarthritis (risk of major systemic corticosteroid side-effects)
718
0.1 (0.1-0.1)
Long-term NSAID or colchicine for chronic treatment of gout where there is no contraindication to allopurinol (allopurinol first choice prophylactic drug in gout)
2845
0.3 (0.3-0.3)
Urinary System
 
 
Antimuscarinic drugs (urinary) with dementia (risk of increased confusion and agitation)
297
0.03 (0.03-0.03)
Antimuscarinic drugs with chronic glaucoma (risk of acute exacerbation of glaucoma)
109
0.01 (0.01-0.01)
Bladder antimuscarinic drugs with chronic constipation (risk of exacerbation of constipation)
3514
0.3 (0.3-0.4)
Bladder antimuscarinic drugs with chronic prostatism (risk of urinary retention)
2791
0.3 (0.3-0.3)
Alpha-blockers in males with frequent incontinence i.e. one or more episodes of incontinence daily (risk of urinary frequency and worsening of incontinence)
1426
0.1 (0.1-0.2)
Alpha-blockers with long-term urinary catheter in situ i.e. more than 2 months (drug not indicated)
31226
3.1 (3.0-3.1)
Endocrine system
 
 
Beta-blockers in those with diabetes mellitus and frequent hypoglycaemic episodes (risk of masking hypoglycaemic symptoms)
26563
2.6 (2.6-2.6)
Glibenclamide with type 2 diabetes mellitus (risk of prolonged hypoglycaemia)
981
0.1 (0.1-0.1)
H. Drugs that adversely affect those prone to falls (≥1 fall in past three months)
 
0.3 (0.3-0.3)
1. Benzodiazepines (sedative, may cause reduced sensorium, impair balance)
3358
0.2 (0.2-0.3)
2. Neuroleptic drugs (may cause gait dyspraxia, Parkinsonism)
2491
 
3. Firstgeneration antihistamines (sedative, may impair sensorium)
250
0.02 (0.02-0.02)
4. Vasodilator drugs (postural hypotension)
788
0.1 (0.1-0.1)
5. Long-term opiates in those with recurrent falls
10321
1.0 (0.1-1.0)
Two concurrent drugs from the same group- therapeutic duplication (optimization of monotherapy within a single drug class) 121668 11.9 (11.9-12.0)

aItalised text in brackets represents the potential risk associated with the PIP indicators.