Medication Risks and Their Association with Patient-Reported Outcomes in Inpatients with Cancer

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Maximilian Günther - , University of Bonn (Author)
  • Markus Schuler - , Department of Internal Medicine I, MVZ Onkologischer Schwerpunkt am Oskar-Helene-Heim, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Leopold Hentschel - , Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Hanna Salm - , University of Greifswald, Helios Hospital Group (Author)
  • Marie Therese Schmitz - , University of Bonn (Author)
  • Ulrich Jaehde - , University of Bonn (Author)

Abstract

Background: We aimed to assess medication risks and determine factors influencing the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer inpatients. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted to identify drug-related problems (DRPs) based on medication reviews, including patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify sociodemographic, disease-related, and drug therapy-related factors influencing changes from hospital admission to discharge in the scales of the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Results: A total of 162 inpatients with various hematological and solid cancer diseases was analyzed. Patients received a mean of 11.6 drugs and 92.6% of patients exhibited polymedication resulting in a mean of 4.0 DRPs per patient. Based on PRO data, 21.5% of DRPs were identified. Multiple linear regression models described the variance of the changes in global HRQOL and physical function in a weak-to-moderate way. While drug therapy-related factors had no influence, relapse status and duration of hospital stay were identified as significant covariates for global HRQOL and physical function, respectively. Conclusion: This analysis describes underlying DRPs in a German cancer inpatient population. PROs provided valuable information for performing medication reviews. The multiple linear regression models for global HRQOL and physical function provided explanations for changes during hospital stay.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number2110
JournalCancers
Volume16
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • drug-related problems, inpatient cancer care, medication review, medication risks, patient-reported outcomes