Rapid Serious Adverse Events with Antipsychotics in Dementia

Antipsychotic medications are increasingly used to treat agitation in elderly patients with dementia, even though this use has been associated with increased risks for adverse events. These researchers used Ontario administrative health data to examine the risk for serious adverse events (SAEs) resulting in hospitalization or death within 30 days of initiating antipsychotic treatment in elderly patients with dementia.

Patients were separated into study groups of community-dwelling patients and nursing-home residents. Patients receiving atypical antipsychotics were matched with those receiving typical antipsychotics and with those receiving no antipsychotic (almost 7000 patients in each of six groups). Among community-dwelling patients, SAEs …