Elderly people with dementia often suffer from neuropsychiatric symptoms, for which they may be prescribed psychotropic drugs. Research by Jiamin Du of the University of Groningen shows that there is room for improvement in the prescribing of these drugs among general practitioners and geriatric specialists. The RUG reports this.
According to the guidelines, when people with dementia exhibit problematic, unexplained behavior, psychotropic drugs can be prescribed under certain circumstances, provided that the behavior cannot be influenced or moderated in other ways. For years, professionals have advocated reducing the use of such drugs, because they can cause dangerous side effects.
Reconsider prescribing policy
Du’s research shows that among community-dwelling elderly people with a new dementia diagnosis, there is an increase in antipsychotic and antidepressant prescriptions over a period of 5 years. GPs can reconsider their prescribing policy, the researcher thinks. However, during the corona pandemic there was a decrease in the number of prescriptions, possibly because fewer neuropsychiatric symptoms were identified during that period.
The number of prescriptions for antipsychotics in nursing homes has been decreasing for years, but at the same time the prevalence of prescribing remains high. Finally, the research shows that more than 80 percent of elderly people with dementia can successfully reduce their medication use within three months.
By: National Healthcare Guide / Johanne Levinsky
2024-01-04 09:26:03
#Reconsider #prescription #policy #psychotropic #drugs #people #dementia
