Table 4.
Detailed drug utilization: Details of cohort for those who experienced a prescribing cascade
| Prescribing Cascade | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medication class | Cholinesterase inhibitor (N06DA) | Bladder Anticholinergic (G04BD) | Metoclopramide (A03FA01) | Parkinson’s Disease medication (N04B) | CCB (C08CA) | Diuretic (C03) |
| Number of cases of prescribing cascade | 60 | 11 | 289 | |||
| Mean age at dementia diagnosis for NSSPBD in prescribing cascade, years (SD) | 79.0 (7.4) | 80.9 (8.0) | 82.8 (7.7) | |||
| Implicated medication |
Donepezil – 40 (66.7%) Galantamine, Rivastigmine – 20 (33.3%) |
Oxybutynin – 43 (71.7%) Tolterodine, Solifenacin, Trospium, Darifenacin, Fesoterodine – 28.3% |
Metoclopramide – 11 (100%) | Levodopa and decarboxylase inhibitor, Ropinirole, Pramipexole – 11 (100%) |
Amlodipine – 193 (66.8%) Felodipine – 10 (3.5%) Nifedipine – 86 (29.8%) |
Furosemide – 224 (77.5%) Hydrochlorothiazide – 41 (14.2%) Ethacrynic acid, Spironolactone, Amiloride – 24 (8.3%) |
NSSPBD Nova Scotia Seniors’ Pharmacare Beneficiaries with Dementia, SD standard deviation