Cara L. McDermott, PharmD, PhD
Credit: Cancer and Aging Research Group
New research has found a large proportion of injurious falls, which were made more likely with high fall-risk increasing drug (FRID) burden, in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) near end of life.1
“Fall-risk increasing drugs are commonly prescribed to people with COPD because they experience a high number of symptoms and conditions that indicate use of these drugs,” lead investigator Cara L. McDermott, PharmD, PhD, assistant professor in medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Duke University School of Medicine, wrote in a statement.2 “However, injuries from falls can lead to emergency department visits or hospitalization, resulting in a lower quality of life and increased health care costs.”
McDermott and…