The list of American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria For Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use In Older Adults was reviewed by experts. The complete 2019 AGS Beers list is available in pdf for educators, doctors, clinicians, researchers, etc. Opioids used concurrently with gabapentin or pregabalin may increase the risk of severe sedation, including respiratory depression and death. Multiple anticholinergic medications used concurrently increase the risk of cognitive decline, delirium, and falls/fractures. Beers Criteria is also known as the Beers list. What are the five Beers criteria? The American Geriatrics Society uses specific criteria to list potentially inappropriate medications for adults over age 65. This clinical tool, based on the 2023 AGS Updated Beers Criteria® for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults (AGS Beers Criteria ® ), has been developed to assist healthcare providers in improving medication safety in older adults. Morgenstern, J. Beers criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults, First10EM, May 15, 2023. Available at: The Beers criteria (named after Dr. Beers and not your Friday night escapades) is a guideline to help guide safe prescribing practices in the geriatric population. New medication interactions to note include opioids with benzodiazepines, gabapentin (Neurontin), or pregabalin (Lyrica) because of the risk of severe respiratory depression; phenytoin (Dilantin As is the case with any other medication, there’s a possibility of interactions occurring when taking gabapentin with other substances, including but not limited to an increase in respiratory depression and increase somnolence (excessive sleepiness). 5 The Beers Criteria were developed by Mark Beers, MD, and colleagues at the University of 6 California Los Angeles in 1991, with the purpose of identifying medications for which potential 7 harm outweighed expected benefit and that should be avoided in nursing home residents. “Do not drink alcohol or take other medicines that make you sleepy or dizzy while taking [gabapentin] without first talking with your healthcare provider. Taking [gabapentin] with alcohol or drugs that cause sleepiness or dizziness may make your sleepiness or dizziness worse.” As such, you should avoid alcohol when taking gabapentin. Recently, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) released the 2023 AGS Beers Criteria ® for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults. For more than 20 years, the Beers Criteria ® have been a valuable resource for healthcare providers about the safety of prescribing drugs for older people. The AGS Beers Criteria® comprises drugs and drug classes that the AGS and its expert panel consider to be potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) for use in older adults. The expert panel organized the criteria into the same five general categories that were used in the 2019 update: Gabapentinoids (pregabalin and gabapentin) which had been on the list to be used in only low doses due to ataxia and falls are now recommended to be avoided in combination with opioids due to sedation, respiratory depression, and death; Many of the drugs on the Beers and Canadian lists are included because of sedative and anticholinergic adverse effects. CNS depressants can cause sedation and cognitive impairment in the elderly, resulting in difficulty with self-care and falls. 2023 AGS BEERS CRITERIA® THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY Geriatrics Health Professionals. AGS Leading change. Improving care for older adults. This clinical tool, based on the 2023 AGS Updated Beers Criteria® for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults (AGS Beers Criteria®), has been developed to assist healthcare Beers Criteria and adjust your approach to those medications accordingly. 4 Optimal application of the AGS 2015 Beers Criteria involves identifying potentially inappropriate medications and where appropriate offering safer nonpharmacological and pharmacological therapies. 5 The AGS 2015 Beers Criteria should be a starting point for a Combining the nerve pain and seizure medication Gabapentin with alcohol like beer, wine, and liquor can lead to unwanted side-effects. Learn more. (888) 306-3122 Is Gabapentin Addictive? Although the DEA doesn’t schedule most medications containing gabapentin as controlled substances, there is potential for abuse. Because of this, some states have reclassified gabapentin as a Schedule V controlled substance. Doctors prescribe gabapentin with caution because of its misuse potential. Notable drug interactions added include opioids plus benzodiazepines or gabapentenoids.1 Use of the Beers list has not been convincingly shown to reduce morbidity, mortality, or cost but is often used by organizations as quality measures. Notable beers updates in 2019. While it is worthwhile for those treating geriatric patients to review the complete Beers Criteria, these updates stood out as notable changes that might impact prescribers’ and pharmacists’ routine decision making at the point of care. Dementia and H2 blockers
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