Students Research in Progress
Monday, November 13, 2023
01:00 PM–02:30 PM
Abstract
Introduction: Muscle relaxers are frequently prescribed to hospitalized patients for muscle spasms and musculoskeletal pain. While head-to-head trials of muscle relaxants do not show partiality toward one specific agent, the highly sedating effect of certain muscle relaxers in comparison to others should raise concern for adverse drug effects (ADE’s). Many of the ADE’s of this drug class can be attributed to their anticholinergic pharmacology.
Research Question or Hypothesis: We hypothesize that the use of muscle relaxers in hospitalized patients may have ramifications on length of stay and the incidence of anticholinergic-associated ADE’s.
Study Design: A retrospective cohort analysis will be conducted on all hospitalized patients over a six-month period who received at least one dose of a muscle relaxer. Approval has been obtained from our institution’s IRB and data collection is ongoing.
Methods: Evaluated muscle relaxers will include metaxalone, orphenadrine, cyclobenzaprine, tizanidine, baclofen, methocarbamol, chlorzoxazone, and carisoprodol. Pediatric patients and those taking a muscle relaxer as a home medication will be excluded. The primary outcome will be the incidence of anticholinergic ADE’s. Secondary endpoints are numerous, but will include: categorization of the anticholinergic ADE observed, mean dose, duration, and frequency of the muscle relaxers administered, quantification of pharmacist interventions related to muscle relaxers, hospital length of stay, and demographic characteristics. Planned data analyses will include descriptive statistics for the primary outcome. Further analyses will be dependent upon the scope of data elucidated from the retrospective cohort analysis, but could reasonably be assumed to include t-tests for paired means, Fischer’s exact test for low-incidence adverse effect rates, and Chi-squared tests for observational data quantified from patient charts.
Results: In progress
Conclusion: In progress
Presenting Author
Hunter Roth Pharm.D. Candidate 2024The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Authors
Justin Reinert Pharm.D., MBA, BCCCP
The University of Texas at Tyler, Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy