Pharmacological Treatment of Agitation in a Nursing Home

Nathan Billig*, Jiska Cohen‐Mansfield, Steven Lipson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

Agitation is a significant problem in the management of residents in long‐term care settings. This study assessed the pharmacological treatment of agitation in a 550‐bed nursing home and correlated nurses' ratings of agitation with pharmacological treatment. It further examined the differential use of various psychotropic agents in the management of several sub‐types of agitated behavior. Significant results included: (1) subjects designated as demented and agitated were most likely to receive neuroleptics, while non‐demented agitated residents were most likely to be treated with a benzodiazepine; (2) agitated individuals received significantly less antidepressant treatment than non‐agitated patients. The sub‐typing of agitation may allow for the possibility of more selective treatment of various agitation syndromes. 1991 The American Geriatrics Society

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1002-1005
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of the American Geriatrics Society
Volume39
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1991
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Pharmacological Treatment of Agitation in a Nursing Home'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this