Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of partly preventable adverse effects, including mortality. The Ariadne principles describe a model of care based on a thorough assessment of diseases, treatments (and potential interactions), clinical status, context and preferences of patients with multimorbidity, with the aim of prioritizing and sharing realistic treatment goals that guide an individualized management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention that implements the Ariadne principles in a population of young-old patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. The intervention seeks to improve the appropriateness of prescribing in primary care (PC), as measured by the medication appropriateness index (MAI) score at 6 and 12 months, as compared with usual care.Methods/design
Design: pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial. Unit of randomization: family physician (FP). Unit of analysis: patient.Scope
PC health centres in three autonomous communities: Aragon, Madrid, and Andalusia (Spain).Population
patients aged 65-74 years with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic diseases) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs prescribed in ≥3 months).Sample size
n = 400 (200 per study arm).Intervention
complex intervention based on the implementation of the Ariadne principles with two components: (1) FP training and (2) FP-patient interview.Outcomes
MAI score, health services use, quality of life (Euroqol 5D-5L), pharmacotherapy and adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green, Haynes-Sackett), and clinical and socio-demographic variables.Statistical analysis
primary outcome is the difference in MAI score between T0 and T1 and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Adjustment for confounding factors will be performed by multilevel analysis. All analyses will be carried out in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle.Discussion
It is essential to provide evidence concerning interventions on PC patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity, conducted in the context of routine clinical practice, and involving young-old patients with significant potential for preventing negative health outcomes.Trial registration
Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02866799.
SUBMITTER: Prados-Torres A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5406997 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

Prados-Torres Alexandra A Del Cura-González Isabel I Prados-Torres Daniel D López-Rodríguez Juan A JA Leiva-Fernández Francisca F Calderón-Larrañaga Amaia A López-Verde Fernando F Gimeno-Feliu Luis A LA Escortell-Mayor Esperanza E Pico-Soler Victoria V Sanz-Cuesta Teresa T Bujalance-Zafra Mª Josefa MJ Morey-Montalvo Mariel M Boxó-Cifuentes José Ramón JR Poblador-Plou Beatriz B Fernández-Arquero José Manuel JM González-Rubio Francisca F Ramiro-González María D MD Coscollar-Santaliestra Carlos C Martín-Fernández Jesús J Barnestein-Fonseca Mª Pilar MP Valderas-Martínez José María JM Marengoni Alessandra A Muth Christiane C
Implementation science : IS 20170427 1
<h4>Background</h4>Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of partly preventable adverse effects, including mortality. The Ariadne principles describe a model of care based on a thorough assessment of diseases, treatments (and potential interactions), clinical status, context and preferences of patients with multimorbidity, with the ...[more]