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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Inappropriate use of psychotropic drugs in older individuals
— implications for practice | | Author(s) | Majda Azermai, Jolyce Bourgeois, Annemie Somers, Mirko Petrovic |
| Journal title | Aging Health, vol 9, no 3, June 2013 |
| Pages | pp 255-264 |
| Source | http://www.futuremedicine.com/loi/ahe |
| Keywords | Nursing homes ; Mental disorder ; Drugs ; Psychiatric treatment ; Evaluation. |
| Annotation | Frailty in old age and institutionalisation in nursing homes are often associated with multiple chronic diseases (multimorbidity) requiring multiple medications (polypharmacy). Among these chronic conditions, mental health problems (e.g., dementia, depression and insomnia) are common. Psychotropic drugs are frequently used as a treatment approach for these conditions, and the prevalence of their use is high among community-dwelling older adults, but even higher in nursing homes. Furthermore within the problem of polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing, psychotropic drugs (defined as antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and antidepressants) constitute a significant proportion. The use of psychotropics in older adults remains controversial given the risk of adverse effects, in contrast to their limited effectiveness. Guidelines advise a thorough risk-benefit analysis before the initiation of psychotropics, in addition to time-limited use and discontinuation. In the future, serious efforts should be undertaken to tackle the burden of inappropriate psychotropic prescribing in older adults by incorporating a multidisciplinary approach and by offering credible alternatives. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-130621210 A |
| Classmark | LHB: E: LLD: LP: 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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