Effectiveness of using STOPP/START criteria to identify potentially inappropriate medication in people aged ≥ 65 years with chronic kidney disease: a randomized clinical trial

Purpose Polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing are common in elderly with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study identified potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs) and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) using the Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescriptions (STOPP) and the Screening Tool to Alert doctors to the Right Treatment (START) criteria in elderly with advanced CKD and determined the effect of a medication review on medication adherence and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods The intervention consisted of a medication review using STOPP/START criteria with a recommendation to a nephrologist or similar review without a recommendation. End points were prevalence of PIP and PPO, medication adherence, and HRQoL. Group differences in outcomes were assessed using a generalized linear mixed model. The trial was registered under (ID: NCT02424786). Results We randomized 180 patients with advanced CKD (mean age 77 years, 23% female). The prevalence of PIPs and PPOs in the intervention group was 54% and 50%, respectively. The odds of PPOs were lower in the intervention than the control group (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.19-0.92, p = 0.032), while there was no intergroup difference in the number of PIPs (OR 0.57, CI 0.27-1.20, p = 0.14). There was no difference in changes in medication adherence or HRQoL from baseline to 6 months between the groups. Conclusions The intervention with the STOPP/START criteria identified a high prevalence of inappropriate medications in the elderly with advanced CKD and reduced the number of PPOs. However, there was no detectable impact of the intervention on medication adherence or HRQoL.