Abstract
Objectives
Polypharmacy (≥5 concurrent medications) is common among older patients with cancer
(48%–80%) and associated with increased frailty, morbidity, and mortality. This study
examined the relationship between polypharmacy and inpatient hospitalization among
older adults with cancer treated with intravenous (IV) chemotherapy.
Materials and Methods
The main data source was the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare
linked files. Patients (≥65 years) were included if they were diagnosed with prostate
(n = 1430), breast (n = 5490), or lung cancer (n = 7309) in 1991–2013 and received IV chemotherapy in 2011–2014. The number of medications
during the six-month window pre-IV chemotherapy initiation determined polypharmacy
status. Negative binomial models were used to assess the association between polypharmacy
and post-chemotherapy inpatient hospitalization. The results were presented as incidence
rate ratios.
Results
We identified 13,959 patients with prostate, breast, or lung cancer treated with IV
chemotherapy. The median number of prescription medications during the six-month window
pre-IV chemotherapy initiation was high: ten among patients with prostate cancer,
nine among patients with breast cancer, and eleven among patients with lung cancer.
Compared to patients taking <5 prescriptions, post-chemotherapy hospitalization rate
for patients with prostate cancer was 42%, 75%, and 114% higher among those taking
5–9, 10–14, and 15+ medications, respectively. Patients with breast and lung cancer
demonstrated similar patterns.
Conclusion
This large population-based study found that polypharmacy during the six-month window
pre-IV chemotherapy is highly predictive of post-chemotherapy inpatient hospitalization.
Further studies are needed to evaluate whether medication management interventions
can reduce post-chemotherapy inpatient hospitalization among older patients with cancer.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 18, 2020
Accepted:
March 4,
2020
Received in revised form:
January 27,
2020
Received:
October 11,
2019
Identification
Copyright
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