Scott Martin Vouri, Pharm.D., Ph.D., BCPG, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy, has been named a Claude D. Pepper Older American Independence Center Junior Scholar. The distinction comes with a two-year, $104,000 award, which Vouri will use to study a type of drug-induced adverse event called a prescribing cascade in older adults.
Vouri plans to asses a prescribing cascade involving the use of calcium channel blockers that can result in edema and requires treatment with a diuretic. A prescribing cascade occurs when side effects of a drug are misdiagnosed as symptoms of another problem, resulting in additional use of other medications and further side effects. This unnecessary use of diuretic medications in older adults can contribute to multiple side effects including acute kidney disease, urinary incontinence and fall-related injuries among others. Vouri aims to estimate the incidence, quantify the consequences and develop prediction models that can identify patients who experience the prescribing cascade.