Risks for Hospitalization and Death with Pimavanserin

In a cohort of patients with Parkinson disease, pimavanserin recipients had a higher 30-day but not 90-day hospitalization rate and higher mortality at 90 days and 1 year compared with nonrecipients.

Pimavanserin is a serotonin 5-HT 2A receptor blocker antipsychotic drug approved to treat hallucinations and delusions in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). To determine whether use of pimavanserin increases risks for hospitalization and death, researchers assessed a retrospective cohort of patients with PD aged 65 years and older who were residents of Medicare-certified long-term care facilities with linked Medicare claims data. The authors used a 24-item propensity score–based inverse probability for treatment, comparing those on and those not on pimavanserin. The authors also applied a Fine-Gray competing risk and Cox proportional hazards regression model to calculate the risk for hospitalization and death for up to 1 year.

There were …

Reviewing Author

Michael S. Okun, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America

Speaker’s BureauMedscape/WebMD CME, Movement Disorders Society CME, American Academy of Neurology CME

RoyaltiesBooks4Patients; Demos; Cambridge; Taylor and Francis; Robert Rose; Public Affairs

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; Parkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America; University of Florida Foundation

Editorial BoardsTremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements; JAMA Neurology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesParkinson’s Foundation (Medical Advisor)