Dr Sujita Narayan
KEY PUBLICATIONS​
BPharm, MPharmPrac, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr Sujita Narayan has been actively involved in research focusing on the quality use of medicines in older people, particularly in people with limited life expectancy and those with multiple co-existing morbidities. Her recent study on the efficacy and safety of antidepressants for pain management in older adults highlights the limited evidence supporting the use of antidepressants for chronic pain in people over 65, despite their widespread use.
Dr Narayan's research emphasises the need for more inclusive clinical trials that consider the unique needs and risks in older adults. She is also involved in research areas such as geriatric pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacotherapy, and drug utilisation studies. As a pharmacist by background, her research often focuses on understanding how medications are used and their effects on older populations, aiming to improve prescribing practices and patient outcomes. Her goals are to impact clinical practice by advocating for effective and safe prescribing in older people and ensuring that guidelines provide more comprehensive evidence for older adults.
Dr Narayan's current research encourages a more personalised approach to pain management in older adults by examining the evidence on the safety and harms of commonly prescribed pain medicines in this population.
Anticholinergic medicines use among older adults before and after initiating dementia medicines British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
Key Research Projects
Risk factors for persistent opioid use in older adults with chronic back pain: A systematic review
Judicious use of opioids may form an important part of the management of back pain in older people; but there are concerns about long term use. There is a lack of evidence on the risk factors that lead to persistent use of opioids in older people living with chronic back pain. This review will identify the risk factors and their strength of association for persistent opioid use in older people with chronic non-malignant back pain. The results will be essential in decision-making for consumers and prescribers in guiding treatment and setting realistic expectations on the duration of opioid analgesic use for chronic non-malignant back pain in older people. Prospectively registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD42024589930) In 2018 over 120 000 people went to an emergency department in Australia because of low back pain. Most had ‘simple’ low back pain, where medical care such as diagnostic imaging (x-Ray, CT, MRI) and strong opioid medicines offer little benefit. Yet 3 in every 4 patients still received this kind of care. Unnecessary care can harm patients and diverts substantial resources from where they are most needed. NUDGED tests a new way to reduce unnecessary care in Australian hospitals. Funding: NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Scheme – $1.12 million funding Principal Investigator: Adrian Traeger Chief Investigators: Prof Chris Maher (IMH),Prof Louise Cullen (University of Queensland),Prof Kirsten McCaffery (University of Sydney), Prof Jeffrey Linder (Northwestern Memorial Hospital), Prof Rachelle Buchbinder (Monash University), Prof Ian Harris (University of New South Wales), Prof Enrico Coiera (Macquarie University), Mr Qiang Li (The George Institute for Global Health), Prof Kirsten Howard (University of Sydney). Associate Investigators: Dr Andrew Coggins (Westmead Hospital), Ms Elise Tcharkhedian (Liverpool Hospital), Dr Gustavo Machado (IMH), Dr Ian Ferguson (Liverpool Hospital), Prof James McAuley (Neuroscience Research Australia), Janet Harrison, Dr Zoe Michaleff (Bond University Limited), Dr Trevor Chan (Emergency Care Institute), Dr Robyn Lindner (NPS MedicineWise).