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End Stage Renal DiseaseMedSafer-HDNCT05585268

Electronic Decision Support for Deprescribing in Patients on Hemodialysis

A study testing Medication reconciliation supplemented with MedSafer and deprescribing brochures in people with End Stage Renal Disease and Hypertension, run by McGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre at 1 site in Canada.

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

Dialysis patients are prescribed an average of 10-12 medications per day, from up to 4-5 different clinicians and have the heaviest pill burden of all chronic conditions given their degree of comorbidity. One strategy for addressing the problem of "medication overload" is through scalable deprescribing interventions. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
What is being tested?
Medication reconciliation supplemented with MedSafer and deprescribing brochures
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
195 participants
Where
1 siteCanada
Study dates
3 Oct 2022to 1 Dec 2022
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

  • Age 18 years and older
  • On outpatient maintenance hemodialysis
  • On one of the study units

Who cannot join

  • Patient is hospitalized during the period of the intervention
  • Patient is newly initiated on hemodialysis during the intervention

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Canada1 site
  • McGill University Health Centre

    Montreal, Quebec, H4A 3J1

Other trials in Canada

About this study

Official title: Electronic Decision Support for Deprescribing in Patients on Hemodialysis: a Prospective, Controlled, Quality Improvement Study

Dialysis patients are prescribed an average of 10-12 medications per day, from up to 4-5 different clinicians and have the heaviest pill burden of all chronic conditions given their degree of comorbidity. One strategy for addressing the problem of "medication overload" is through scalable deprescribing interventions. MedSafer is an electronic deprescribing tool that cross-references patient health data with existing deprescribing guidelines and provides a deprescribing report to clinicians to facilitate deprescribing and reducing the burden of polypharmacy. In this study the investigators will test MedSafer on dialysis patients paired with medication reconciliation on an intervention unit compared to a control unit.

Read the detailed description

Patients on dialysis are prescribed an average of 10-12 medications per day from up to 4-5 different clinicians and amounting to up to 19 pills per day. This patient population has one of the the heaviest pill burdens of all chronic conditions because of therapy to treat comorbidities like disease, hypertension, or diabetes as well as therapy directed at symptoms and drug side effects.

Over 90% of hemodialysis patients take 5 or more medications (polypharmacy), contributing to medication overload. Further, up to 50% of patients on dialysis are prescribed a potentially inappropriate medication (PIM), defined as a medication carrying an increased risk of contributing to an adverse drug event (ADE). Polypharmacy and associated ADEs increase emergency room visits, hospital admissions and the risk of premature death. Furthermore, some medications have little therapeutic benefit and simply add to pill burden.

Studies continue to document the pressing need for deprescribing, medication reconciliation, and medication management programs in dialysis patient populations for the above reasons. While deprescribing guidelines are available to clinicians, they can be difficult to implement as few tools consolidate the recommendations, guidelines are often long lists which require memorization, and they may not explain how to deprescribe and what rebound symptoms to watch out for. The investigators have previously demonstrated that the electronic tool MedSafer, which identifies deprescribing opportunities based on comparing medication lists and comorbidities to a curated ruleset which incorporates publicly available deprescribing guidance and emerging literature, can be a valuable aid in supporting deprescription of PIMs during acute care episodes. MedSafer has also been shown to be of benefit in Long Term Care settings. Dialysis patients, with a large burden of polypharmacy and complex medical histories, coupled with a high risk for adverse drug events leading to hospitalization and death, represent a unique population in which to study a systematic deprescribing intervention as a means of improving quality of care.

Objectives The primary aim is to provide deprescribing reports containing MedSafer recommendations to the clinical team of a hemodialysis unit during the process of Medication reconciliation, to determine if the identification of deprescribing opportunities can improve medication appropriateness as defined by the receipt of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) at the patient level. This intervention will be compared to the efficacy of the intervention with a control dialysis unit that will undergo the standard of care medication reconciliation process with a MedSafer report.

Being tested
Medication reconciliation supplemented with MedSafer and deprescribing brochures
Medical subject headings
Kidney Failure, Chronic, Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Renal Insufficiency, Chronic, Anemia

What participants receive

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

  • Medication reconciliation supplemented with MedSafer and deprescribing brochuresOther

    This unit will act as an intervention unit for the MedRec where MedSafer deprescribing reports will be handed to the treating team and deprescribing brochures from the Canadian Deprescribing Network will be given to patients.

Study groups in NCT05585268
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
MedSafer-supplemented medication reconciliationActive comparatorThis unit will act as an intervention unit for the MedRec where MedSafer deprescribing reports will be handed to the treating team and deprescribing brochures from the Canadian Deprescribing Network will be given to patients.
Receives: Other: Medication reconciliation supplemented with MedSafer and deprescribing brochures
Standard of care medication reconciliationNo interventionThis unit will serve as the control unit where standard of care will be provided and no deprescribing reports nor brochures will be delivered. MedSafer reports will be generated but withheld from the clinical team. This will serve as a comparator to determine if the intervention unit was more successful in deprescribing compared to this control unit.

What is being measured

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

  1. Proportion of patients with one or more PIMs deprescribed

    The proportion of participants with one or more PIMs deprescribed following a medication reconciliation, compared between intervention and control units.This will be conditioned on patients with 1 or more PIMs at baseline.

    Measured: 1 month

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Mean number of total medications

    The reduction in the mean number of drugs taken following a medication reconciliation compared between intervention and control unit

    Measured: 1 month

Timeline

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

  1. First posted18 Oct 2022
  2. Study start3 Oct 2022
  3. Primary completion1 Dec 2022
  4. Study completion1 Dec 2022

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
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
This quality improvement, parallel group, superiority trial will use two different dialysis sites of the McGill University Health Centre. One unit will act as a control unit. The other will act as an intervention unit. Participants are automatically enrolled in the study and assigned to the intervention when the MedSafer reports are handed to the clinical team at the time of performing a medication reconciliation.
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
195 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05585268
Sponsor's protocol ID
0000
Acronym
MedSafer-HD
Status last verified
Oct 2023
First submitted
2 Oct 2022
Last updated
1 Nov 2023
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: Anonymous data will be made available for secondary analysis upon request with a data sharing agreement

Publications

  • Marin JG, Beresford L, Lo C, Pai A, Espino-Hernandez G, Beaulieu M. Prescription Patterns in Dialysis Patients: Differences Between Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis Patients and Opportunities for Deprescription. Can J Kidney Health Dis. 2020 May 1;7:2054358120912652. doi: 10.1177/2054358120912652. eCollection 2020.

    PubMed 32426145
  • Moryousef J, Bortolussi-Courval E, Podymow T, Lee TC, Trinh E, McDonald EG. Deprescribing Opportunities for Hospitalized Patients With End-Stage Kidney Disease on Hemodialysis: A Secondary Analysis of the MedSafer Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. Can J Kidney Health Dis. 2022 May 13;9:20543581221098778. doi: 10.1177/20543581221098778. eCollection 2022.

    PubMed 35586025
  • Battistella M, Jandoc R, Ng JY, McArthur E, Garg AX. A Province-wide, Cross-sectional Study of Demographics and Medication Use of Patients in Hemodialysis Units Across Ontario. Can J Kidney Health Dis. 2018 Mar 13;5:2054358118760832. doi: 10.1177/2054358118760832. eCollection 2018.

    PubMed 29568537
  • Alshamrani M, Almalki A, Qureshi M, Yusuf O, Ismail S. Polypharmacy and Medication-Related Problems in Hemodialysis Patients: A Call for Deprescribing. Pharmacy (Basel). 2018 Jul 25;6(3):76. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy6030076.

    PubMed 30046021
  • Sommer J, Seeling A, Rupprecht H. Adverse Drug Events in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Associated with Multiple Drug Interactions and Polypharmacy. Drugs Aging. 2020 May;37(5):359-372. doi: 10.1007/s40266-020-00747-0.

    PubMed 32056163
  • Halli-Tierney AD, Scarbrough C, Carroll D. Polypharmacy: Evaluating Risks and Deprescribing. Am Fam Physician. 2019 Jul 1;100(1):32-38.

    PubMed 31259501
  • Hovstadius B, Petersson G. Factors leading to excessive polypharmacy. Clin Geriatr Med. 2012 May;28(2):159-72. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2012.01.001. Epub 2012 Feb 15.

    PubMed 22500536
  • McDonald EG, Wu PE, Rashidi B, Wilson MG, Bortolussi-Courval E, Atique A, Battu K, Bonnici A, Elsayed S, Wilson AG, Papillon-Ferland L, Pilote L, Porter S, Murphy J, Ross SB, Shiu J, Tamblyn R, Whitty R, Xu J, Fabreau G, Haddad T, Palepu A, Khan N, McAlister FA, Downar J, Huang AR, MacMillan TE, Cavalcanti RB, Lee TC. The MedSafer Study-Electronic Decision Support for Deprescribing in Hospitalized Older Adults: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2022 Mar 1;182(3):265-273. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.7429.

    PubMed 35040926
  • Nadeau ME, Henry JL, Lee TC, Bortolussi-Courval E, Goodine C, McDonald EG. Spread and scale of an electronic deprescribing software to improve health outcomes of older adults living in nursing homes: study protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial. Trials. 2021 Nov 2;22(1):763. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05729-0.

    PubMed 34727956
  • McDonald EG, Wu PE, Rashidi B, Forster AJ, Huang A, Pilote L, Papillon-Ferland L, Bonnici A, Tamblyn R, Whitty R, Porter S, Battu K, Downar J, Lee TC. The MedSafer Study: A Controlled Trial of an Electronic Decision Support Tool for Deprescribing in Acute Care. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2019 Sep;67(9):1843-1850. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16040. Epub 2019 Jun 27.

    PubMed 31250427
  • McIntyre C, McQuillan R, Bell C, Battistella M. Targeted Deprescribing in an Outpatient Hemodialysis Unit: A Quality Improvement Study to Decrease Polypharmacy. Am J Kidney Dis. 2017 Nov;70(5):611-618. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2017.02.374. Epub 2017 Apr 14.

    PubMed 28416321
  • Bortolussi-Courval E, Podymow T, Trinh E, Moryousef J, Hanula R, Huon JF, Mavrakanas T, Suri R, Lee TC, McDonald EG. Electronic Decision Support for Deprescribing in Patients on Hemodialysis: Clinical Research Protocol for a Prospective, Controlled, Quality Improvement Study. Can J Kidney Health Dis. 2023 Jun 26;10:20543581231165712. doi: 10.1177/20543581231165712. eCollection 2023.

    PubMed 37435299

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Medication reconciliation supplemented with MedSafer and deprescribing brochures in people with End Stage Renal Disease and Hypertension, run by McGill University Health Centre/Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre at 1 site in Canada.

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 3 inclusion and 2 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 1 Nov 2023. 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 Canada. 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?

Proportion of patients with one or more PIMs deprescribed (time frame: 1 month). 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 NCT05585268, which also lists 12 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 1 Nov 2023.

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