Reducing antipsychotics in dementia

摘要

THE prescribing of low-dose antipsychotics for challenging behaviour for people with dementia gained prominence following media attention and the publication of the Banerjee report in 2006. The report identified that there are an estimated 180,000 people with dementia on antipsychotic drugs. However, in only about one-third of cases were the drugs beneficial. There were 1,800 excess deaths per year as a result of their prescription and up to 1,620 cerebrovascular events. The report suggests that, if support were available to provide alternative methods of managing behavioural problems, prescribing of antipsychotics could be reduced by two thirds in people with dementia.