Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Anti-psychotic drug use in the elderly increases despite drug safety warnings

Three regulatory warnings of serious adverse events slowed the growth of use of atypical antipsychotic drugs among elderly patients with dementia, but they did not reduce the overall prescription rate of these drugs, found a research analysis of prescription drug claims data in Ontario http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg438.pdf. The rate of use of these drugs actually increased 20% from the month prior to the first warning in September 2002 to the end of the study period in February 2007.

About 70% of people receiving antipsychotic drugs lived in nursing homes, and approximately 40% were aged 85 or older.

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