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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Antipsychotics for BPSD
— an audit of prescribing practice in a specialist psychiatric inpatient unit | | Author(s) | Camilla Haw, Jean Stubbs, Graeme Yorston |
| Journal title | International Psychogeriatrics, vol 20, no 4, August 2008 |
| Pages | pp 790-799 |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Behaviour disorders ; Symptoms ; Drugs ; Psychiatric units ; Standards of provision ; Evaluation. |
| Annotation | Antipsychotics are widely used for the treatment of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). In the light of the increased risk of cerebrovascular events, many countries have issued guidelines concerning their use in treating BPSD. An audit was carried out of antipsychotic prescribing practice for inpatients with BPSD at a tertiary referral centre using standards derived from two United Kingdom dementia guidelines. Case note and prescription data were collated and consultant psychiatrists were interviewed. Of the 60 patients with dementia, 50 (83%) had BPSD; of these, 28 (56%) were receiving antipsychotics. Those prescribed antipsychotics were more likely to have severe BPSD and to be aggressive and/or agitated. Audit of the 28 patients receiving antipsychotics for BPSD showed generally satisfactory results, but there was room for improvement in case note documentation of off-label usage, screening for risk factors of cerebrovascular disease, consultation with relatives, and use of an appropriate starting dose and slow titration of the antipsychotic. Audit of the use of antipsychotics for BPSD is important given the increased mortality associated with their use. Simple audit tools as used in this study can inform clinical practice. Even at a tertiary referral centre, prescribing practice could be improved. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-090825216 A |
| Classmark | EA: EP: CT: LLD: LDL: 583: 4C |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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