CPRD product code lists used to define long-term preventative, high-risk, and palliative medication.

19 tab-delimited data files comprising code lists used in a Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) analysis investigating prescribing of enteral administered medication in the last year of life of patients that died with a diagnosis of dementai. Three drug groupings were also examined; long-term preventative treatments (statins, drugs affecting bone metabolism, calcium and vitamin D, and dementia, antihypertensive [angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, diuretics], anticoagulants, antiplatelet, and diabetic medication), high-risk medication (antipsychotics, anxiolytics/hypnotics, opioids, anticholinergics, drugs that lower blood pressure [the aforementioned antihypertensive drugs, plus nitrates] and drugs with a high risk of gastrointestinal bleeds) and palliative care medications (opioids, benzodiazepines, antiemetics, steroids and drugs to reduce secretions). Long-term preventative treatments were selected based on their usual intended use rather than length of prescription. Some pharmacological classes were common to more than one category. Prescriptions were limited to enteral-administered drugs, with the exception of palliative medications which included injectable drugs.

Denholm, R. Morris, R. Payne, R. Polypharmacy patterns in the last year of life in patients with dementia.