Objective: To investigate pharmacist-led dementia care rounds (PDRs) and their effect on the use of sleep medications, including the number and content of prescription suggestions during PDRs and use of sleep medications at the time of hospitalization and discharge.
Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of inpatients who received PDR intervention at a hospital in Japan from January 1 to December 31, 2020. The PDR team, consisting of a pharmacist and dementia care nurse, made prescription suggestions through the attending nurse, and the attending physician made the decision to change the prescription. Use of sleep medication was investigated by classifying patients into 2 groups: those for whom prescription suggestions from PDRs were accepted and those for whom they were rejected.
Results: PDRs were conducted 1,164 times with 418 patients, and prescription suggestions were made 330 times (28.4%) for 173 (41.4%) patients. Of these, 234 (70.9%) prescription suggestions were accepted. At the time of discharge, the percentage of patients using benzodiazepine-based sleep medications was 3.1% in the accepted group and 11.9% in the rejected group. The percentage of patients using non-benzodiazepine-based sleep medications was 22.1% in the accepted group and 9.5% in the rejected group. Further, the percentage of patients using non-γ-aminobutyric acid receptor agonist drugs as sleep medications was 9.2% in the accepted group and 2.4% in the rejected group. The results show that the percentage of patients using benzodiazepine-based sleep medications was significantly lower in the accepted group than in the rejected group (P = .022).
Conclusions: PDR intervention contributed to the appropriate use of sleep medications, with nearly 30% of prescription suggestions. PDRs may play an important role in the appropriate use of sleep medications, and active participation of pharmacists in dementia care is necessary.
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