Medication Management and Care of Demented Patients With Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia in Taiwan: A Retrospective Pilot Study

February 22, 2011 updated by: Taipei Medical University WanFang Hospital
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other countries issue warnings on the off-label use of antipsychotics in demented patients with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) (FDA warning, 2003; 2005; 2008). There is a significant increase in mortality rate by 1.6 fold due to cardiovascular events and aspiration pneumonia in the demented patients received antipsychotics comparing to placebo group. However, the prescription rates of antipsychotics in demented patients are still increased by 20% after several alerts in Canada (Valiyeva et al., 2008).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Cumulative observations indicate that demented patients withdrawn antipsychotics may not exacerbate BPSD. The DART-AD study shows that both demented patients with/without antipsychotics for six months have no significant difference in cognitive symptoms and BPSD (Ballard et al., 2008). Moreover, the results of a long-term follow-up DART-AD study demonstrate that the survival rate of demented patients with antipsychotics is lower than those without antipsychotics at 24th month (with group vs. without group = 40% vs. 71%) and 36th month (with group vs. without group = 30% vs. 59%), respectively (Ballard et al., 2009). Recently, several studies indicate that antidepressants such as citalopram and milnacipran might be a new medication management for demented patients with BPSD (Pollock et al., 2007).

The present study is designed as a retrospective open-label pilot study. The initial research goal of this study is to determine the prevalence of psychotropic agents in demented patients in Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) (2005 v.s. 2008) and prescription rates of psychotropic agents in demented patients in Taipei Medical University-Teaching Hospitals (from 2002 to 2010). The psychotropic agents are defined as antipsychotic, antidepressant, sedative-hypnotic, anticonvulsant agents. Moreover, the second objective of this study is to investigate the risk of cardiovascular and aspiration pneumonia. Finally, the results of this study could be used to create the best and practical protocol of treatment for BPSD in demented patients of Taiwan to improve their drug safety and quality of life.

Currently, there is no treatment for BPSD, and pharmacists should recommend physicians to decrease the off-label use of antipsychotics in demented patients with BPSD. The main reason is due to the fact that off-label use of antipsychotics increases significantly the mortality rate of demented patients. The therapeutic management of BPSD should be based on the evidence-based medicine and patient safety.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

200

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Taipei, Taiwan
        • Taipei Medical University - WanFang Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

20 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

dementia patients

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • This study is planning to study patients with dementia (ICD-code: 290.XX), Alzheimer's disease (ICD-code: 331.0), and/or other organic psychotic conditions (chronic) (ICD-code: 294.XX), including delirium, delusion, depressive features, and/or in conditions classified elsewhere with behavior disturbance.
  • This study is to include demented patients with mild to moderate cognitive impairment (mini-mental state examination [MMSE] = 10-24/ Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR] = 0.5-2).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • The present proposal excludes patients with a primary history of schizophrenic disorder (ICD-code: 295XX) and bipolar disorder (296XX).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
antipsychotic agents
non-antipsychotic agents

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Taipei Medical University WanFang Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Winston Wu-Dien Shen, Taipei Medical University WanFang Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 2002

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 22, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 22, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

February 24, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 24, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 22, 2011

Last Verified

February 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 99076

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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