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Drug-drug InteractionsPINGNCT04710615

Impact of an Artificial Intelligence Platform on Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults

A study testing Synapse platform in people with Drug-drug Interactions and Geriatric Disease, run by University Hospital, Bordeaux at 5 sites in France.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

Polypharmacy in the older adults is common and promotes the risk of drug interactions. The hypothesis evoked is that a virtual platform with artificial intelligence applied to the health, and in particular to the good use of the drug, could bring aids to the doctors them of the prescription of drugs. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 65 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Drug-drug Interactions, Geriatric Disease
What is being tested?
Synapse platform
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
178 participants
Where
5 sitesFrance
Study dates
5 Oct 2021to 20 Apr 2024
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 65 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Male or female age aged more than 65 years
  • Hospitalization in geriatric department at Bordeaux University Hospital or Libourne Hospital
  • Initial drug prescription with at least 2 active pharmaceutical ingredients
  • Affiliation to French social security
  • Written informed consent signed by participant and investigator

Who cannot join

  • Adults protected by law
  • Subject included in a clinical trial with an experimental treatment
  • Subject during exclusion period relative to another trial

Trial locations and contacts

5 sites in 1 country.

5 sites in 1 country

France5 sites
  • CHU de Bordeaux, Hôpital Pellegrin

    Bordeaux, 33000

  • CHU de Bordeaux

    Bordeaux, 33000

  • Centre Hospitalier de Libourne - Pôle Gériatrie

    Libourne, 33500

  • CHU de Bordeaux, Hôpital Xavier Arnozan

    Pessac, 33400

  • CHU de Bordeaux, Hôpital Xavier Arnozan

    Pessac, 33600

Other trials in France

About this study

Polypharmacy in the older adults is common and promotes the risk of drug interactions. The hypothesis evoked is that a virtual platform with artificial intelligence applied to the health, and in particular to the good use of the drug, could bring aids to the doctors them of the prescription of drugs. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of geriatric use of the Synapse platform on the frequency of inappropriate medication prescriptions (STOPP criteria) in discharge orders for patients 65 years of age or older hospitalized in geriatric department.

Read the detailed description

The French 2018-2022 National Health Strategy plan aims to reduce the proportion of potentially harmful medication use. One particular challenge is the phenomenon of polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use in elderly, which is associated to an increased risk of drug-drug interactions. Several scales and tools have been proposed to identify inappropriate drugs prescription in older adults. Among them, the STOPP / START criteria (Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions / Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment) are internationally recognized.

The Synapse platform offers a panel of functions that may help physicians to prescribe medications. For instance, the prescriber can interact with the Synapse platform by asking any type of question about a drug (dosage, contraindication, interaction ...) before prescription. It also allows them to take a picture of prescription. The software detects in less than 10 seconds criteria for inappropriate medication prescriptions and potential drug-drug interactions.

More precisely, the Synapse platform provides information on a particular drug or prescription analysis regarding:

  • Indications, contraindications, dosage and adverse effects of drugs.
  • STOPP criteria.
  • START criteria.
  • Associations at risk for drug-drug interactions.

Multiple new health technologies are emerging, but few of them have demonstrated their scientific and medical added value using an evidence-based medicine approach.

This clinical trial aims to validate the clinical interest of the Synapse application in a geriatric environment.

Prescriptions made by geriatricians participating in this study will be analyzed by two independent experts, including one pharmacist and one geriatrician.

Being tested
Synapse platform
Keywords
Drugs, artificial, intelligence, medications, Elderly

What participants receive

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

  • Synapse platformDevice

    The Synapse platform made available to health professionals, is a virtual assistant capable of understanding the questions of natural language doctors and providing an answer by specifying the source of information used. This device also allows you to photograph a prescription and analyze it automatically to detect potential drug interactions.

    The Synapse platform offers a panel of functions to help the doctor to prescribe medication.

Study groups in NCT04710615
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Assistance deviceExperimentalWith prescription assistance device: During the other 3 months, investigators will have the Synapse platform on different media (mobile phones, tablets, laptops and landline).
Receives: Device: Synapse platform
No deviceNo interventionDuring 3 months, investigators will not have the Synapse platform and will make their prescriptions with the usual tools which they have: Modules of help in the DxCare® software of the CHU, public database of the drugs, dictionary Vidal®, …

What is being measured

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

  1. Number of patients with decrease in STOPP criteria number between initial prescription and exist prescription.

    Proportion of patients with decrease in STOPP criteria number between initial prescription and exist prescription.

    Measured: Month 6

Secondary outcomes (11)
  1. Number of patients with increase in START criteria number between initial prescription and exist prescription.

    Proportion of patients with increase in START criteria number between initial prescription and exist prescription.

    Measured: Day 1

  2. Number of patients with increase in START criteria number between initial prescription and exist prescription.

    Proportion of patients with increase in START criteria number between initial prescription and exist prescription.

    Measured: Month 6

  3. Number of STOPP criteria

    Difference in the number of STOPP criteria between initial and discharge prescription

    Measured: Day 1

  4. Number of STOPP criteria

    Difference in the number of STOPP criteria between initial and discharge prescription

    Measured: Month 6

  5. Number of START criteria

    Difference in the number of START criteria between initial and discharge prescription.

    Measured: Day 1

  6. Number of START criteria

    Difference in the number of START criteria between initial and discharge prescription.

    Measured: Month 6

  7. number of patients with decrease in contraindicated drug-drug interaction

    Proportion of patients with decrease in contraindicated drug-drug interaction number between initial and discharge prescription

    Measured: Day 1

  8. number of patients with decrease in contraindicated drug-drug interaction

    Proportion of patients with decrease in contraindicated drug-drug interaction number between initial and discharge prescription

    Measured: Month 6

  9. Number of patients with decrease if active pharmaceutical ingredients

    Proportion of patients with decrease in number of active pharmaceutical ingredients between initial and discharge prescription

    Measured: Day 1

  10. Number of patients with decrease if active pharmaceutical ingredients

    Proportion of patients with decrease in number of active pharmaceutical ingredients between initial and discharge prescription

    Measured: Month 6

  11. Number of connections per week on Synapse platform by geriatricians

    Number of connections per week on Synapse platform by geriatricians

    Measured: Month 6

Timeline

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

  1. First posted14 Jan 2021
  2. Study start5 Oct 2021
  3. Primary completion20 Apr 2024
  4. Study completion20 Apr 2024

Why it stopped: Target number of subject not reached, termination due to recruitement contraints

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
Health services research
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
178 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04710615
Sponsor's protocol ID
CHUBX 2019/33
Acronym
PING
Status last verified
Jan 2024
First submitted
8 Jan 2021
Last updated
24 Jun 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Synapse platform in people with Drug-drug Interactions and Geriatric Disease, run by University Hospital, Bordeaux at 5 sites in France.

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 5 inclusion and 3 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: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 24 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 5 sites in France. 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 was stopped early (reason given: Target number of subject not reached, termination due to recruitement contraints). Results are not available in the source record.

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?

Number of patients with decrease in STOPP criteria number between initial prescription and exist prescription. (time frame: Month 6). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
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 24 Jun 2026.

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