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Antipsychotics in elderly people: to prescribe or to ban?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

M. Zbidi*
Affiliation:
Psychiatry department, Taher sfar University hospital of mahdia tunisia, Mahdia, Tunisia
W. Bouali
Affiliation:
Psychiatry department, Taher sfar University hospital of mahdia tunisia, Mahdia, Tunisia
M. Kacem
Affiliation:
Psychiatry department, Taher sfar University hospital of mahdia tunisia, Mahdia, Tunisia
W. Haouari
Affiliation:
Psychiatry department, Taher sfar University hospital of mahdia tunisia, Mahdia, Tunisia
L. Zarrouk
Affiliation:
Psychiatry department, Taher sfar University hospital of mahdia tunisia, Mahdia, Tunisia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The prescription of psychotropic drugs is a major health problem , especially in the elderly. In fact, many studies highlight the misuse of psychotropic drugs and in particular the over-prescription of antipsychotics in the elderly which would be deleterious and not indicated.

Objectives

To evaluate the prescription of antipsychotics in hospitalized elderly people in a psychiatric environment and to compare them with data from the literature.

Methods

This is a retrospective descriptive study of patients aged over 65, hospitalized in the psychiatry department between January 2017 and December 2021 and who received first- or second-generation antipsychotic treatment during their hospitalization.

Results

Our sample consisted of 20 patients. More than half of our sample (55%, N=11) had at least one somatic history. More than 20% of subjects, was polymedicated; and for only one patient, the ECG showed an elongation of the space QT counter indicating the use of antipsychotics. The most common diagnosis found was schizophrenia with a rate of 35%,followed by paranoia (20%), and chronic hallucinatory psychosis (15%). More than a quarter of our sample (30%, N=6) received antipsychotic treatment of first generation (AP1G), 10 patients (50%) received antipsychotic treatment of second generation(AP2G) and three patients (15%) received a combination of AP1G and AP2G. More than a quarter of our patients (30%, N=6) reported adverse effects due to neuroleptic treatment.

Conclusions

The results of our study highlighted different indications for which an antipsychotic treatment was prescribed for an elderly person despite a ground often flawed, polymedicated and where the undesirable effects are superimposed.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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