Biomedical subjects

P A Parish

Publications and source records attributed to P A Parish.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1990

Drug prescribing in residential homes for elderly people in the United Kingdom.

Data relating to the use of medicines from a descriptive epidemiologic study of drug use in 55 residential homes for elderly people in Britain were analyzed. Of the 1888 residents included in the study, 1617 (85.6 percent) received a total of 5535 medicines. The median number of medicines received per day was three and the per-day range varied from one to thirteen medicines. Significantly more women than men received medicines and women also received more medicines each. The most frequently prescribed group of medicines were those acting on the central nervous (34.0 percent), the cardiovascular (27.2 percent), and on the gastrointestinal (8.9 percent) systems. Deficiencies were identified in doses, duration, and selection of drugs in certain therapeutic groups.

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PubMed1988

The use of diuretic medicines by elderly people in residential homes.

Data relating to the use of diuretics from a descriptive epidemiological study of drug use in residential homes for elderly people were analysed. Of the 1,888 residents included in the study, 797 (42%) received diuretics. Significantly more females than males received diuretics (ratio of 3.1:1) and recipients were significantly older than non-recipients. They received a total of 894 diuretics of which 413 (46.2%) were loop diuretics, 168 (18.6%) were thiazide diuretics and 278 (31.2%) were potassium-sparing diuretics. The single most frequently used diuretic was frusemide. Diuretics were involved in 209 potential drug-drug interactions which represented 41% of the total number of potential drug-drug interactions. Of these interactions 19 were considered to be potentially highly clinically significant.

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PubMed1988

The use of digoxin in 55 residential homes for elderly people.

Data relating to the use of digoxin from a descriptive epidemiological study of drug use in residential homes for elderly people were analysed. Of the 1,888 residents in the study homes, 212 were receiving cardiac glycosides. The ratio of females to males who received cardiac glycosides was 2.8:1; however, this was not statistically significant as it reflected the overall population. The median age of recipients of cardiac glycosides was 85.2 years and they were significantly older than non-recipients (P less than 0.001). The cardiac glycosides were almost exclusively prescribed as digoxin, the median dose was 125 micrograms with a range of 62.5 to 250 micrograms, and the median duration of treatment was 2.3 years, range less than 0.1 to 10.1 years. Digoxin was involved in a total of 152 potential drug interactions, 12 of which were potentially highly significant clinically.

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PubMed1988

Use of hypnotic medicines by elderly people in residential homes.

Data relating to the use of hypnotic medicines from a descriptive epidemiological study of drug use in 55 residential homes for elderly people were analysed. Of the 1888 residents included in the study, 435 (23.0%) were receiving a total of 448 hypnotic medicines. There was preferential prescribing of short-acting benzodiazepines but long-acting benzodiazepines represented 31.7% of all hypnotic drugs prescribed. The median duration of treatment with temazepam was 0.8 years and with nitrazepam 2.5 years. The proportion of residents receiving hypnotic medicines in each home varied from 3.6% to 60.0% with a median of 24.1%. This study indicates a need for general practitioners to review their prescribing of hypnotic medicines for elderly people, paying particular attention to the duration of treatment.

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PubMed1987

Survey of remedies held and dispensed in residential homes for the elderly.

From a survey of drug use in 55 residential homes for the elderly it was found that a total of 365 medicines comprising 114 different products were held and dispensed by the homes. Of these 43 (12%) were prescription-only medicines. The most frequently held therapeutic groups were analgesics (23% of all remedies held), laxatives (22%) and antacids (14%). It is recommended that a formulary of remedies held and dispensed in residential homes should be introduced in order to rationalize their use.

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PubMed1983