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PolypharmacySIMDANCT03901820

Evaluation of a Drug Interactions Software to Limit Polypharmacy

A study testing Medication Interaction System of Dr App (SIMDA) in people with Polypharmacy and Elderly, run by University of Buenos Aires at 1 site in Argentina.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Multiple morbidity is increasing, especially in elderly people, with a corresponding increase in polypharmacy and inappropriate prescriptions. According to different evaluations, between 25 and 75% of patients aged 75 or older are exposed to 5 or more drugs. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Polypharmacy, Elderly, Inpatient
What is being tested?
Medication Interaction System of Dr App (SIMDA)
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
1,053 participants
Where
1 siteArgentina
Study dates
26 Mar 2019to 30 Nov 2021
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Patients interned in the medical clinic room of the Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín

Who cannot join

None listed.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Argentina1 site
  • Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín

    Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aire, Buenos Aires F.D., 1121

Other trials in Argentina

About this study

Official title: Evaluation of a Drug Interactions Software to Limit Polypharmacy (Evaluación de un Programa de Interacciones Medicamentosas Para Limitar la Polifarmacia)

Multiple morbidity is increasing, especially in elderly people, with a corresponding increase in polypharmacy and inappropriate prescriptions. According to different evaluations, between 25 and 75% of patients aged 75 or older are exposed to 5 or more drugs. There is increasing evidence that polypharmacy can cause more harm than good, especially in elderly people, due to factors such as drug-drug and drug-disease interactions.

Many strategies were proposed to reduce polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing, but there is little evidence to show benefit. There is an urgent need to implement effective strategies. The application methodology must be simple so that it does not fail in daily practice.

Read more

For the current plan, an electronic medical record, named "DrApp", will be used, which will include a drug interaction program, SIMDA, which will automatically indicate the medication prescriptions that involve a risk for the patient.

The first indication of each patient admitted to two rooms of the Internal Medicine Department of the Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín will be registered. The indications will be compared in the 4 months prior to the incorporation of the SIMDA program with the 4 months after the incorporation of the program. Between both stages a period of 2 weeks will be established in which the data will not be recorded. The minimum number of patients that will be included in each stage is 100.

The primary end point is to compare the total number of indications per inpatient, before the availability of the SIMDA program and after the application of this program.

The objective is to evaluate if the computer program of detection of drug interactions allows to limit the polypharmacy in hospitalized patients.

Read the detailed description

Multiple morbidity is increasing, especially in elderly people, with a corresponding increase in polypharmacy and inappropriate prescriptions. According to different evaluations, between 25 and 75% of patients aged 75 or older are exposed to 5 or more drugs. There is increasing evidence that polypharmacy can cause more harm than good, especially in elderly people, due to factors such as drug-drug and drug-disease interactions.

Many strategies were proposed to reduce polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing, but there is little evidence to show benefit. There is an urgent need to implement effective strategies. The application methodology must be simple so that it does not fail in daily practice.

For the current plan, an electronic medical record, named "DrApp", will be used, which will include a drug interaction program, SIMDA, which will automatically indicate the medication prescriptions that involve a risk for the patient.

The first indication of each patient admitted to two rooms of the Internal Medicine Department of the Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín will be registered. The indications will be compared in the 4 months prior to the incorporation of the SIMDA program with the 4 months after the incorporation of the program. Between both stages a period of 2 weeks will be established in which the data will not be recorded. The minimum number of patients that will be included in each stage is 100.

The primary end point is to compare the total number of indications per inpatient, before the availability of the SIMDA program and after the application of this program.

The objective is to evaluate if the computer program of detection of drug interactions allows to limit the polypharmacy in hospitalized patients.

Being tested
Medication Interaction System of Dr App (SIMDA)
Keywords
Electronic Record, Drug interaction, Polypharmacy, Elderly, Adverse Drug reaction
Medical subject headings
Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Medication Interaction System of Dr App (SIMDA)Device

    Also called SIMDA

    A module for the electronic clinical records allowing detection of the potential drug interactions

Study groups in NCT03901820
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
DrApp Without SIMDANo interventionThere are approximately 100 inpatients in whom the indications were registered through the use of DrApp, before the implementation of the drug interactions detection module.
DrApp With SIMDAExperimentalThere are approximately 100 inpatients in whom the indications were registered through the use of DrApp, AFTER the implementation of the drug interactions detection module (SIMDA).
Receives: Device: Medication Interaction System of Dr App (SIMDA)

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Prevalence of polypharmacy cases detected in two internal medicine hospitalization units of a University Hospital

    Through the electronic medical record called DrApp, the quantity of medicines prescribed to each patient is quantified and used for calculation of polypharmacy prevalence in tha basal period (pre-introduction of SIMDA) and late period (Post introduction of SIMDA).

    Measured: 1 year

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. SIMDA associated change in the number of total prescribed drug per patient

    Change in total prescribed drug per patient will be calculated as the differene between basal total prescribed drug per patient (Pre-SIMDA) minus resulting total prescribed drug per patient (Post-SIMDA)

    Measured: 1 year

  2. Number of total drug interactions per patient and subclassification by severity (in post-SIMDA period).

    The addition of the application called SIMDA, will allow detecting the presence of drug interactions and their severity in the second phase. These will be reported as the total number of interactions reported per patient, and subclassificated into number of mild (no need to take action), moderate (require patient monitoring), and severe (possible contraindication) interactions detected per patient.

    Measured: 1 year

  3. difference between Number of total drug interactions per patient in the local environment with those reported in the literature at the international level

    The difference will be calculated as the number of total drug interactions per patient minus the value (number of drug interaction per patient) reported in the bibliography at international level in similar populations.

    Measured: 1 year

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted3 Apr 2019
  2. Study start26 Mar 2019
  3. Primary completion30 Nov 2021
  4. Study completion30 Nov 2021

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
An electronic medical record, DrApp, will be used, which will include a drug interaction program, SIMDA, which will automatically indicate the medication prescriptions that involve a risk for the patient. The first indication of each patient admitted to two rooms of the Internal Medicine Department of the Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín will be registered. The indications will be compared in the 4 months prior to the incorporation of the SIMDA program with the 4 months after the incorporation of the program. Between both stages a period of 2 weeks will be established in which the data will not be recorded. The minimum number of patients that will be included in each stage is 100.
Masking
Triple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Investigator
Enrolment
1,053 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT03901820
Sponsor's protocol ID
RB-001
Acronym
SIMDA
Status last verified
May 2022
First submitted
27 Mar 2019
Last updated
20 May 2022
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: There is an intention to publish all the results obtained and share them with other researchers.

Publications

  • Sonnichsen A, Trampisch US, Rieckert A, Piccoliori G, Vogele A, Flamm M, Johansson T, Esmail A, Reeves D, Loffler C, Hock J, Klaassen-Mielke R, Trampisch HJ, Kunnamo I. Polypharmacy in chronic diseases-Reduction of Inappropriate Medication and Adverse drug events in older populations by electronic Decision Support (PRIMA-eDS): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2016 Jan 29;17:57. doi: 10.1186/s13063-016-1177-8.

    PubMed 26822311
  • Rieckert A, Sommerauer C, Krumeich A, Sonnichsen A. Reduction of inappropriate medication in older populations by electronic decision support (the PRIMA-eDS study): a qualitative study of practical implementation in primary care. BMC Fam Pract. 2018 Jul 9;19(1):110. doi: 10.1186/s12875-018-0789-3.

    PubMed 29986668
  • Clyne B, Bradley MC, Hughes CM, Clear D, McDonnell R, Williams D, Fahey T, Smith SM; OPTI-SCRIPT study team. Addressing potentially inappropriate prescribing in older patients: development and pilot study of an intervention in primary care (the OPTI-SCRIPT study). BMC Health Serv Res. 2013 Aug 14;13:307. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-13-307.

    PubMed 23941110
  • Clyne B, Cooper JA, Hughes CM, Fahey T, Smith SM; OPTI-SCRIPT study team. A process evaluation of a cluster randomised trial to reduce potentially inappropriate prescribing in older people in primary care (OPTI-SCRIPT study). Trials. 2016 Aug 3;17(1):386. doi: 10.1186/s13063-016-1513-z.

    PubMed 27488272
  • Bril F, Castro V, Centurion IG, Espinosa J, Keller GA, Gonzalez CD, Riera MC, Saubidet CL, Di Girolamo G, Pujol GS, Alvarez PA. A Systematic Approach to Assess the Burden of Drug Interactions in Adult Kidney Transplant Patients. Curr Drug Saf. 2016;11(2):156-63. doi: 10.2174/157488631102160429003742.

    PubMed 27194037
  • Alvarez PA, Bril F, Castro V, Meiville I, Gonzalez CD, Centurion IG, Parejas G, Riera CS, Saubidet CL, Di Girolamo G, Keller GA. Adverse drug reactions as a reason for admission to an internal medicine ward in Argentina. Int J Risk Saf Med. 2013;25(3):185-92. doi: 10.3233/JRS-130596.

    PubMed 24047689
  • Barcia RE, Keller GA, Azzato F, Diez RA, Sielecki M, Kleine RS, Lescano JA, Giunti G. Development and Implementation of the Hdc.DrApp.la and SIMDA Programs to Reduce Polypharmacy and Drug-drug Interactions in Patients Hospitalized in Internal Medicine. Rev Recent Clin Trials. 2023;18(2):156-166. doi: 10.2174/1574887118666230208124744.

    PubMed 36752290

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Medication Interaction System of Dr App (SIMDA) in people with Polypharmacy and Elderly, run by University of Buenos Aires at 1 site in Argentina.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 May 2022. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Argentina. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Prevalence of polypharmacy cases detected in two internal medicine hospitalization units of a University Hospital (time frame: 1 year). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT03901820, which also lists 7 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 20 May 2022.

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