Risk of death in elderly users of conventional vs. atypical antipsychotic medications

Delirium in the intensive care unit

Delirium, an acute and fluctuating disturbance of consciousness and cognition, is a common manifestation of acute brain dysfunction in critically ill patients, occurring in up to 80% of the sickest intensive care unit (ICU) populations. Critically ill patients are subject to numerous risk factors for delirium. Some of these, such as exposure to sedative and analgesic medications, may be modified to reduce risk. Although dysfunction of other organ systems continues to receive more clinical attention, delirium is now recognized to be a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in the ICU, and it is recommended that all ICU patients be monitored using a validated delirium assessment instrument. Patients with delirium have longer hospital stays and lower 6-month survival than do patients without delirium, and preliminary research suggests that delirium may be associated with cognitive impairment that persists months to years after discharge. Little evidence exists regarding the prevention and treatment of delirium in the ICU, but multicomponent interventions reduce the incidence of delirium in non-ICU studies. Strategies for the prevention and treatment of ICU delirium are the subjects of multiple ongoing investigations.

Improvement in behavioural symptoms in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease by memantine: a pooled data analysis

INTRODUCTION

Behavioural disturbances are a common and distressing aspect of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This pooled analysis evaluated the specific benefits of memantine on behavioural disturbances in patients with moderate to severe AD.

METHODS

Data were pooled from six 24/28-week, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies. Of the 2,311 patients included in these studies, 1,826 patients with moderate to severe AD (MMSE <20) were included in this analysis, corresponding to the extended indication for memantine in Europe. In this subgroup, 959 patients received memantine 20 mg/day and 867 received placebo. Behavioural symptoms were rated using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) total and single-item scores at weeks 12 and 24/28.

RESULTS

At weeks 12 and 24/28, ITT analysis demonstrated that memantine treatment produced statistically significant benefits over placebo treatment in NPI total score (p=0.001 and p=0.008), and in NPI single items: delusions (p=0.007 week 12, p=0.001 week 24/28), hallucinations (p=0.037 week 12), agitation/aggression (p=0.001 week 12, p=0.001 week 24/28), and irritability/lability (p=0.005 week 24/28), LOCF population. Analysis of the patients without symptoms at baseline indicated reduced emergence of agitation/aggression (p=0.002), delusions (p=0.047), and disinhibition (p=0.011), at week 12, and of agitation/aggression (p=0.002), irritability/lability (p=0.004), and night-time behaviour (p=0.050) at week 24/28 in those receiving memantine. OC analyses yielded similar results.

CONCLUSIONS

The data suggest that memantine is effective in treating and preventing the behavioural symptoms of moderate to severe AD. Specific persistent benefits were observed on the symptoms of delusions and agitation/aggression, which are known to be associated with rapid disease progression, increased caregiver burden, early institutionalisation, and increased costs of care.

The economic consequences of non-evidence-based clopidogrel use

BACKGROUND

Clinical trials have helped clarify the efficacy of clopidogrel for the treatment and prevention of vascular disease. Costs for its use exceeded $5.9 billion in 2005, making it the second greatest source of drug expenditure in the world. However, little is known about the appropriateness of that use. Overuse of clopidogrel could have important implications for health care quality and drug expenditures.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study linking all filled prescriptions to all clinical encounter data for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a large state-wide pharmacy assistance program. We identified all patients newly prescribed clopidogrel during a recent 2-year period and determined the proportion who had indications for clopidogrel, the mean number of tablets filled by patients with and without apparent indications in the year after starting therapy, and the costs associated with the observed patterns of clopidogrel use.

RESULTS

We identified 4977 patients who were newly prescribed clopidogrel. Of these patients, only 47% had > or = 1 documented indications for clopidogrel according to clinical trial findings. Using looser criteria, the number of patients with appropriate indications was 56%. During the first year of therapy, 43% ($2.05 million) of total clopidogrel expenditures for the patients studied was spent on patients without an indication that this agent was required, using the extended criteria for evidence-based use.

CONCLUSIONS

More than 40% of the clopidogrel used in this population appears to have been prescribed to patients for whom the drug had no documented advantage over aspirin or no antiplatelet therapy. If the same proportion applies nationally, in 2005, it would represent almost $1.5 billion of potentially unnecessary health care expenditure.

ACNP White Paper: update on use of antipsychotic drugs in elderly persons with dementia

In elderly persons, antipsychotic drugs are clinically prescribed off-label for a number of disorders outside of their Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indications (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder). The largest number of antipsychotic prescriptions in older adults is for behavioral disturbances associated with dementia. In April 2005, the FDA, based on a meta-analysis of 17 double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trials among elderly people with dementia, determined that atypical antipsychotics were associated with a significantly (1.6-1.7 times) greater mortality risk compared with placebo, and asked that drug manufacturers add a 'black box' warning to prescribing information for these drugs. Most deaths were due to either cardiac or infectious causes, the two most common immediate causes of death in dementia in general. Clinicians, patients, and caregivers are left with unclear choices of treatment for dementia patients with psychosis and/or severe agitation. Not only are psychosis and agitation common in persons with dementia but they also frequently cause considerable caregiver distress and hasten institutionalization of patients. At the same time, there is a paucity of evidence-based treatment alternatives to antipsychotics for this population. Thus, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that psychotropics other than antipsychotics represent an overall effective and safe, let alone better, treatment choice for psychosis or agitation in dementia; currently no such treatment has been approved by the FDA for these symptoms. Similarly, the data on the efficacy of specific psychosocial treatments in patients with dementia are limited and inconclusive. The goal of this White Paper is to review relevant issues and make clinical and research recommendations regarding the treatment of elderly dementia patients with psychosis and/or agitation. The role of shared decision making and caution in using pharmacotherapy for these patients is stressed.

Quetiapine treatment for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer's disease patients: a 6-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

SETTING

Treating elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) is challenging due to the increased risk of iatrogenic movement disorders with old neuroleptics and the seemingly increasing risk of cardiovascular events with newer atypical agents. Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic agent that warrants further investigation.

OBJECTIVES

To assess tolerability, safety, and clinical benefit of quetiapine in AD patients with BPSD.

PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN

AD patients with BPSD participated in a 6-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Quetiapine was increased on the basis of clinical response and tolerability. Primary efficacy assessments included the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGI-C). Secondary efficacy measures included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS) and the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS).

RESULTS

Forty patients (26 women), mean age 82.2 (SD 6.4) years were enrolled, 27 completed treatment. Median dose of quetiapine was 200 mg/day. Significant NPI total scores reductions (79% for placebo and 68.5% for quetiapine) were observed. The CGI-C score decreased significantly in the quetiapine group (p = 0.009 at 6 weeks) and did not change significantly in the placebo group (p = 0.48). The MMSE, AIMS, SAS scores and adverse events did not differ significantly between the two arms.

CONCLUSIONS

Quetiapine did not significantly improve psychosis scores. It did not cause cognitive and motor deterioration. These results might possibly be due to small sample size.

Delirium in hospitalised older persons: review

Delirium, a mental disorder that becomes established over a few hours or days, is characterised by fluctuating attention and cognitive states. This article reviews the disorder, which has all the features of an important geriatric syndrome: it appears mainly in persons older than 65 years of age, is closely linked with very prevalent diseases and complications arising in the elderly, and is the mode of presentation of many other diseases in this age group. We discuss diagnostic, clinical preventive and therapeutic aspects and analyse the most common risk and precipitating factors in our hospitalised patients from the viewpoint of clinical practice. Finally, we propose a scheme for the prevention and treatment of delirium.

Management of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia

More than 50% of people with dementia experience behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). BPSD are distressing for patients and their caregivers, and are often the reason for placement into residential care. The development of BPSD is associated with a more rapid rate of cognitive decline, greater impairment in activities of daily living, and diminished quality of life (QOL). Evaluation of BPSD includes a thorough diagnostic investigation, consideration of the etiology of the dementia, and the exclusion of other causes, such as drug-induced delirium, pain, or infection. Care of patients with BPSD involves psychosocial treatments for both the patient and family. BPSD may respond to those environmental and psychosocial interventions, however, drug therapy is often required for more severe presentations. There are multiple classes of drugs used for BPSD, including antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, anxiolytics, cholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA modulators, but the evidence base for pharmacological management is poor, there is no clear standard of care, and treatment is often based on local pharmacotherapy customs. Clinicians should discuss the potential risks and benefits of treatment with patients and their surrogate decision makers, and must ensure a balance between side effects and tolerability compared with clinical benefit and QOL.

Antipsychotic drug use and risk of pneumonia in elderly people

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the association between antipsychotic drug use and risk of pneumonia in elderly people.

DESIGN

A nested case-control analysis.

SETTING

Data were used from the PHARMO database, which collates information from community pharmacies and hospital discharge records.

PARTICIPANTS

A cohort of 22,944 elderly people with at least one antipsychotic prescription; 543 cases of hospital admission for pneumonia were identified. Cases were compared with four randomly selected controls matched on index date.

MEASUREMENTS

Antipsychotic drug use in the year before the index date was classified as current, recent, or past use. No prescription for an antipsychotic in the year before the index date was classified as no use. The strength of the association between use of antipsychotics and the development of pneumonia was estimated using multivariate logistic regression analysis and expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

Current use of antipsychotics was associated with an almost 60% increase in the risk of pneumonia (adjusted OR=1.6, 95% CI=1.3-2.1). The risk was highest during the first week after initiation of an antipsychotic (adjusted OR=4.5, 95% CI=2.8-7.3). Similar associations were found after exclusion of elderly people with a diagnosis of delirium. Current users of atypical agents showed a higher risk of pneumonia (adjusted OR=3.1, 95% CI=1.9-5.1) than users of conventional agents (adjusted OR=1.5, 95% CI=1.2-1.9). There was no clear dose-response relationship.

CONCLUSION

Use of antipsychotics in elderly people is associated with greater risk of pneumonia. This risk is highest shortly after the initiation of treatment, with the greatest increase in risk found for atypical antipsychotics.

Serum substance P levels in patients with chronic schizophrenia treated with typical or atypical antipsychotics

Aspiration pneumonia is a major cause of death in patients with dysphagia, often accompanied by psychiatric symptoms. The inhibition of swallowing and cough reflexes, which contribute to a significant risk for aspiration, may be related to decreased levels of substance P. Clinical studies indicate a strong association of an increased mortality in psychiatric patients with the use of antipsychotics. The present study documented fewer positive episodes of swallowing reflex in patients treated with haloperidol for schizophrenia (7/11; 63.6%) than those treated with risperidone (10/11; 90.9%). In addition, patients treated with risperidone had serum substance P levels comparable with control subjects (29.0 +/- 7.8 pg/mL, 29.6 +/- 7.6, respectively; p = 0.9), while patients treated with haloperidol had significantly lower serum substance P levels (20.6 +/- 5.5 pg/mL; p < 0.01). Among patients on haloperidol, those with negative episodes of reflex (4/11; 36.4%) had serum substance P levels at 15.8 +/-1.0 pg/mL, in contrast with those with positive episodes (7/11; 63.6%) who had serum levels at 23.4 +/- 4.9 pg/mL. However, in the patient group treated with risperidone, serum substance P levels in the majority of patients with positive episodes of reflexes (10/11, 90.9%; 30.1 +/- 7.2 pg/mL) was found to be as high as in control subjects, all with positive episodes (5/5, 100%; 29.6 +/- 7.6 pg/mL) (p = 0.866), and higher than in one patient with negative reflex (1/11, 9.1%; 18.0 +/- 0.0 pg/mL). These results suggest that the decreased serum substance P levels are strongly associated with the use of haloperidol, as well as decreased swallowing reflexes. This suggests that serum substance P levels may be a useful predictive marker for the increased risk of developing aspiration, or subsequently aspiration pneumonia. Moreover, this increased incidence of aspiration may contribute to an increased mortality in patients following antipsychotic therapy. Risperidone, which has little influence on serum substance P productions, may be a more appropriate first-line drug of choice for treatment of schizophrenia.

Inappropriate prescribing in geriatric patients

Inappropriate prescribing in older people is a common condition associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and financial costs. Medication use increases with age, and this, in conjunction with an increasing disease burden, is associated with adverse drug reactions. This review outlines why older people are more likely to develop adverse drug reactions and how common the problem is. The use of different tools to identify and measure the problem is reviewed. Common syndromes seen in older adults (eg, falling, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance) are considered, and recent evidence in relation to medication use for these conditions is reviewed. Finally, we present a brief summary of significant developments in the recent literature for those caring for older people.

Risk of stroke with typical and atypical anti-psychotics: a retrospective cohort study including unexposed subjects

The purpose of the study was to investigate the risk of stroke with typical and atypical anti-psychotics in elderly subjects, weighting for a number of known risk factors, including dementia. Data were retrospectively drawn from the primary care setting from the Health Search Database, which stores information on about 1.5% of the total Italian population served by general practitioners. All elderly patients (65+ years) prescribed an anti-psychotic in monotherapy from January 2000 to June 2003 were selected for the study. A cohort of patients not exposed to anti-psychotics was taken from the same database. Subjects who had previously had a stroke were excluded. The main outcome measure was the incidence of first-ever stroke during exposure to an anti-psychotic.The sample included non-users (69,939), users of atypicals (599), butyrophenones (749), phenotiazines (907) and substituted benzamides (1,968). The crude incidence of stroke in subjects not exposed to anti-psychotics was 12.0/1000 person-years. Risk was significantly higher for those on butyrophenones (47.1/1000), phenotiazines (72.7/1000) and in the atypical anti-psychotic group (47.4/1000). Substituted benzamides had an almost significant higher risk (25.0/1000). Cox regression modelling, weighting for demographic and clinical variables with non-users as the reference group, showed that the risk for stroke was 5.79 times for phenotiazines, 3.55 times for butyrophenones, and 2.46 times for atypicals. Clinicians should be cautious in prescribing phenotiazines and butyrophenones in elderly patients, since the risk for stroke would seem comparable or even greater than with atypicals.

Neurological complications of psychiatric drugs: clinical features and management

This paper reviews the main neurological complications of psychiatric drugs, in particular antipsychotics and antidepressants. Extrapyramidal syndromes include acute dystonia, parkinsonism, akathisia, tardive dyskinesia and tardive dystonia. Extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) are less frequent with atypical than with conventional antipsychotics but remain common in clinical practice partly due to lack of screening by health professionals. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) consists of severe muscle rigidity, pyrexia, change in conscious level and autonomic disturbance but partial forms also occur. NMS is particularly associated with the initiation and rapid increase in dose of high-potency antipsychotics but it has been reported with all the atypical antipsychotics and rarely with other drugs including antidepressants. Serotonin toxicity comprises altered mental state (agitation, excitement, confusion), neuromuscular hyperactivity (tremor, clonus, myoclonus, hyper-reflexia) and autonomic hyperactivity and occurs on a spectrum. Severe cases, termed serotonin syndrome, usually follow the co-prescription of drugs that increase serotonergic transmission by different pathways, for example a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) and a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Most antipsychotics and antidepressants lower the seizure threshold and can cause seizures; the risk is greater with clozapine than with other atypical antipsychotics and greater with tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) than with SSRIs. In randomised controlled trials in elderly patients with dementia atypical antipsychotics are associated with a higher risk of stroke and death than placebo. Cohort studies suggest that conventional drugs carry at least the same risk. Cessation of treatment with antipsychotics and antidepressants can lead to a wide range of discontinuation symptoms which include movement disorders and other neurological symptoms. Clinicians need to be familiar with strategies to reduce the risk of these adverse events and to manage them when they arise. Their occurrence needs to be balanced against the benefits of psychiatric drugs in terms of efficacy and improved quality of life in a range of disorders.

Adverse effects of atypical antipsychotics : differential risk and clinical implications

Antipsychotic drugs can be of great benefit in a range of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but all are associated with a wide range of potential adverse effects. These can impair quality of life, cause stigma, lead to poor adherence with medication, cause physical morbidity and, in extreme cases, be fatal. A comprehensive overview of tolerability requires a review of all available data, including randomised controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies and postmarketing surveillance studies. Assessing the relative tolerability of atypical antipsychotics is hampered by the paucity of RCTs that compare these drugs head-to-head, and limited and inconsistent reporting of adverse effect data that makes cross-study comparisons difficult. Despite methodological problems in assessment and interpretation of tolerability data, important differences exist between the atypical antipsychotics in the relative risk of acute extrapyramidal symptoms (highest risk: higher doses of risperidone), hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia (highest risk: clozapine and olanzapine), hyperprolactinaemia (highest risk: amisulpride and risperidone), prolongation of heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc) [highest risk: ziprasidone and sertindole] and weight gain (highest risk: clozapine and olanzapine). Sedation, antimuscarinic symptoms, postural hypotension, agranulocytosis and seizures are more common with clozapine than with other atypical antipsychotics. The variation in their tolerability suggests that it is misleading to regard the atypical antipsychotics as a uniform drug class, and also means that the term 'atypical antipsychotic' has only limited usefulness. Differences between the atypical agents in terms of efficacy and pharmacodynamic profiles also support this view. As tolerability differs between specific conventional and atypical drugs, we conclude that broad statements comparing the relative risk of specific adverse effects between 'atypical' and 'conventional' antipsychotics are largely meaningless; rather, comparisons should be made between specific atypical and specific conventional drugs. Adverse effects are usually dose dependent and can be influenced by patient characteristics, including age and gender. These confounding factors should be considered in clinical practice and in the interpretation of research data. Selection of an antipsychotic should be on an individual patient basis. Patients should be involved in prescribing decisions and this should involve discussion about adverse effects.

Palliative care in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, atypical parkinsonian syndromes, and multiple sclerosis are progressive neurologic disorders that cumulatively afflict a large number of people. Effective end-of-life palliative care depends upon an understanding of the clinical aspects of each of these disorders.

OBJECTIVES

The authors review the unique and overlapping aspects of each of these disorders with an emphasis upon the clinical management of symptoms.

DESIGN

The authors review current management and the supporting literature.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians have many effective therapeutic options to choose from when managing the symptoms produced by these disorders.

Medical management of frontotemporal dementia

There are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for the medical management of frontotemporal dementia and its related disorders, so all management recommendations are necessarily off-label and borrowed from experience with Alzheimer's disease, psychiatric disease, and related medical illnesses. Six areas of pharmacotherapeutic consideration are prevention (primary and secondary), intellectual decline, behavioral disorders (such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis), sleep disorders, frequently associated disorders (including motor neuron disease), and abrupt decline. In addition to pharmacotherapy, important lifestyle issues confronting the clinician include driving cessation, securing any weapons maintained at home, assisted living, and caregiver burnout.

Comparison of risk of cerebrovascular events in an elderly VA population with dementia between antipsychotic and nonantipsychotic users

INTRODUCTION

The credibility of an increased risk of cerebrovascular events (CVEs) in elderly patients with dementia being treated with second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) is debatable. Although early published and unpublished data indicated a risk, much of the subsequent literature has not supported this initial finding. Previously published studies were flawed in part because they lacked a control group and did not stratify by dementia subtype. This study examined the risk of a CVE in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer or vascular dementia while being treated with SGA, first-generation antipsychotics, or no antipsychotic medication.

METHODS

Data from 14,029 patients aged 65 years and older were evaluated using patient information from Veterans Administration and Medicare databases. Patients who received care for dementia were categorized according to dementia subtype (vascular or Alzheimer) and antipsychotic use during an 18-month period. Patients were observed until they were admitted to a hospital for a CVE, stopped taking or switched antipsychotics, died, or until the 18-month observation period ended.

RESULTS

Overall, CVE risk did not differ whether patients were receiving a first-generation antipsychotic, SGA, or no antipsychotic therapy. However, patients with vascular dementia had an increased risk in hospitalization for a CVE. There was no increase in risk of a CVE for patients treated with quetiapine, olanzapine, or risperidone relative to haloperidol, or for patients receiving olanzapine or risperidone relative to quetiapine. Stratified subgroup analyses demonstrated no difference in risk for CVE-related admission patients with Alzheimer dementia among individual agents. However, patients with vascular dementia receiving risperidone, but not olanzapine or quetiapine, were found to be at decreased risk for CVE admission relative to haloperidol.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found no increase in overall risk for CVE-related hospital admission in patients treated with antipsychotic medications.

Antipsychotic medication dispensing and risk of death in veterans and war widows 65 years and older

OBJECTIVE

To establish the instantaneous relative risk (RR) of death associated with individual antipsychotic drugs, carbamazepine and sodium valproate for those 65 years and older.

METHODS

Subjects dispensed antipsychotic drugs, sodium valproate or carbamazepine in 2003 or 2004 were analyzed as incident (N = 16,634) or prevalent (N = 9,831) users. Survival curves, mortality rates, and Cox proportional hazards models over two time periods were used to explore risk of death. The models were adjusted for age, sex, residential status, and psychotropic and medical drug dispensing. Olanzapine subjects were the reference group in the Cox regression. Subanalyses were performed for incident subjects with more than 30 days of follow-up and those dispensed cholinesterase inhibitors.

RESULTS

In the adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, haloperidol dispensing was consistently associated with an increased risk of death compared with olanzapine users (relative risk [RR] for incident users: 2.26, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 2.08-2.47; Wald statistic: 345.36, df = 1, p < or =0.001). There was some evidence of decreased survival with dispensing of higher haloperidol doses, although confounding by medical comorbidity cannot be excluded. Chlorpromazine (RR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.15-1.67; Wald statistic: 12.08, df = 1, p <0.001) and risperidone (RR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.07-1.40; Wald statistic: 9.12, df = 1, p = 0.003) dispensing were associated with increased risk of death in incident users.

CONCLUSION

These results should be interpreted cautiously because haloperidol and chlorpromazine are used in broader clinical contexts. However, in the absence of data from randomized trials, the safety profile of haloperidol should not be assumed to be benign. Antipsychotic drugs should not be studied as an aggregated group because their associated risks are not uniform.

The many faces of psychosis in the elderly

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

As the population ages, the number of older patients with psychosis will greatly rise. This review focuses on the etiology, biologic and clinical findings, and treatments of common causes of psychosis in the elderly.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies on psychosis related to Alzheimer's disease indicate that antipsychotic drugs have equivocal efficacy in improving psychotic symptoms and may have side effects or risks that outweigh their benefits. Behavioral interventions for agitation in dementia are showing some promise. In older adults with schizophrenia, intramuscular ziprasidone was found to be effective, and evidence is emerging for the use of hormone replacement therapy. For depression with psychosis, a recent study found that the combination of an antidepressant with an antipsychotic is no more effective than an antidepressant alone.

SUMMARY

There is support for the use of antipsychotic drugs for all types of psychosis in the elderly. While the atypical antipsychotics have a 'black box warning' on risk of death in elderly patients with dementia, the typical antipsychotics carry an even higher risk of death and adverse effects. Weighing the potential risks and benefits of treatment options is essential. Please refer to your country's regulations regarding the use of antipsychotic drugs.

Aripiprazole for the treatment of psychoses in institutionalized patients with Alzheimer dementia: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled assessment of three fixed doses

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole for psychosis associated with Alzheimer dementia (AD).

METHODS

In this double-blind, multicenter study, 487 institutionalized patients with psychosis associated with AD were randomized to placebo or aripiprazole, 2, 5 or 10 mg/day. Primary efficacy assessment was the mean change from baseline to week 10 on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home (NPI-NH) version Psychosis Subscale score. Secondary measures included NPI-NH Total, Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness (CGI-S), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) Core and Total, and the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) scores.

RESULTS

Aripiprazole 10 mg/day showed significantly greater improvements (mean change [2 x SD]) than placebo on the NPI-NH Psychosis Subscale (-6.87 [8.6] versus -5.13 [10.0]; F = 6.29, df = 1, 422, p = 0.013 by analysis of covariance [ANCOVA]); CGI-S (-0.72 [1.8] versus -0.46 [1.6]; F = 4.68, df = 1, 419, p = 0.031 [ANCOVA]); BPRS Total (-7.12 [18.4] versus -4.17 [21.6]; F = 4.72, df = 1, 399, p = 0.030 [ANCOVA]); BPRS Core (-3.07 [6.9] versus -1.74 [7.8]; F = 7.30, df = 1, 407, p = 0.007 [ANCOVA]); CMAI (-10.96 [22.6] versus -6.64 [28.6]; F = 5.23, df = 1, 410, p = 0.023 [ANCOVA]), and NPI-NH Psychosis response rate (65 versus 50%; chi(2) = 5.52, df = 1, p = 0.019 [CMH]). Aripiprazole 5 mg/day showed significant improvements versus placebo on BPRS and CMAI scores. Aripiprazole 2 mg/day was not efficacious. Cerebrovascular adverse events were reported: aripiprazole 2 mg/day, N = 1; 5 mg/day, N = 2; 10 mg/day, N = 4; placebo, N = 0. No deaths in any group (aripiprazole 2 mg/day, 3%; 5 mg/day, 2%; 10 mg/day, 7%; placebo, 3%) were considered to be treatment-related.

CONCLUSION

Aripiprazole 10 mg/day was efficacious and safe for psychosis associated with AD, significantly improving psychotic symptoms, agitation, and clinical global impression. However, clinicians should be aware of the safety considerations of atypical antipsychotic uses in this population.

A double-blind comparison of citalopram and risperidone for the treatment of behavioral and psychotic symptoms associated with dementia

OBJECTIVE

To compare citalopram and risperidone for the treatment of psychotic symptoms and agitation associated with dementia, with a priori hypotheses that risperidone would be more efficacious for psychosis and citalopram for agitation.

METHODS

A 12-week randomized, controlled trial in nondepressed patients with dementia hospitalized because of behavioral symptoms (N = 103) was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Participants were consecutively recruited on an inpatient unit if they had at least one moderate to severe target symptom (aggression, agitation, hostility, suspiciousness, hallucinations, or delusions). Once they improved sufficiently, they were discharged to nursing homes, personal care homes, or residential homes for continued treatment. Planned pre-post and mixed model analyses of the main outcome measures of Neurobehavioral Rating Scale and Side Effect Rating Scale at baseline and at weekly/biweekly intervals were conducted.

RESULTS

Completion rates did not differ for citalopram and risperidone (overall completion rate: 44%). Agitation symptoms (aggression, agitation, or hostility) and psychotic symptoms (suspiciousness, hallucinations, or delusions) decreased in both treatment groups but the improvement did not differ significantly between the two groups. There was a significant increase in side effect burden with risperidone but not with citalopram such that the two groups differed significantly.

CONCLUSION

No statistical difference was found in the efficacy of citalopram and risperidone for the treatment of either agitation or psychotic symptoms in patients with dementia. These findings need to be replicated before citalopram or other serotonergic antidepressants can be recommended as alternatives to antipsychotics for the treatment of agitation or psychotic symptoms associated with dementia.

The importance of diagnosing and managing ICU delirium

ICU delirium represents a form of brain dysfunction that in many cohorts has been diagnosed in 60 to 85% of patients receiving mechanical ventilation. This organ dysfunction is grossly underrecognized because a majority of patients have hypoactive or "quiet" delirium characterized by "negative" symptoms (eg, inattention and a flat affect) not alarming the treating team. Hyperactive delirium, formerly called ICU psychosis, stands out because of symptoms such as agitation that may cause harm to self or staff, but is actually rare relative to hypoactive delirium and associated with a better prognosis. Delirium is often incorrectly thought to be transient and of little consequence. After adjusting for numerous covariates, delirium is a strong, independent predictor of prolonged length of stay, reintubation, higher mortality, and cost of care. Expanded work on patient safety and recommendations by professional societies have established the importance of delirium monitoring and recommended it as standard practice in ICUs all over the world. This evidence-based review for physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and pharmacists will outline why it is imperative that patients be routinely monitored for delirium. This review will discuss modifiable risk factors for delirium, such as metabolic disturbances or potent sedative and analgesic medications. Attention to mitigating risk factors, along with recommended pharmacologic approaches such as antipsychotic medications, may provide resolution of delirium in some patients, while others will persist with refractory brain dysfunction and long-term cognitive impairment following critical illness.

Evaluating the Validity of an Instrumental Variable Study of Neuroleptics

BACKGROUND

Postmarketing studies of prescription drugs are challenging because prognostic variables that determine treatment choices are often unmeasured. In this setting, instrumental variable (IV) methods that exploit differences in prescribing patterns between physicians may be used to estimate treatment effects; however, IV methods require strong assumptions to yield consistent estimates. We sought to explore the validity of physician-level IV in a comparative study of short-term mortality risk among elderly users of conventional versus atypical antipsychotic medications (APM).

METHODS

We studied a cohort of patients initiating APMs in Pennsylvania who were eligible for Medicare and a state-funded pharmaceutical benefit plan. The IV was defined as the type of the APM prescription written by each physician before the index prescription. To evaluate whether the IV was related to other therapeutic decisions that could affect mortality, we explored the association between the instrument and 2 types of potentially hazardous coprescriptions: a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) not recommended for use in the elderly or a long-acting benzodiazepine. To insure that the IV analysis was not biased by case-mix differences between physicians, we examined the associations between the observed patient characteristics and the IV.

RESULTS

The cohort consisted of 15,389 new users of APMs. Our multivariable model indicated that physicians who had most recently prescribed a conventional APM were not significantly more or less likely to coprescribe a potentially hazardous TCA [odds ratio (OR), 0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.58-1.02] but were less likely to prescribe a long-acting benzodiazepine (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.45-0.72) with their current APM prescription. The association between long-acting benzodiazepine prescribing and APM preference was no longer significant when the analysis was restricted to primary care physicians (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.62-1.15). Multivariable regression indicated that important medical comorbidities (eg, cancer, hypertension, stroke) were unrelated to the IV.

CONCLUSIONS

The previous APM prescription written by the physician was unassociated with major medical comorbidities in the current patient, suggesting that the IV estimates were not biased by case-mix differences between physicians. However, we did find that the IV was associated with the use of long-acting benzodiazepines. This association disappeared when the study was restricted to the patients treated by primary care physicians. Our study illustrates how internal validation approaches may be used to improve the design of quasi-experimental studies.

Patterns and predictors of statin use after coronary artery bypass graft surgery

OBJECTIVES

The benefits of statin therapy for patients with coronary artery disease have been well documented, including those occurring after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The purposes of this study were to assess statin prescription rates in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery and to identify the determinants of postoperative statin administration.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort of 9284 Medicare patients aged 65 years or older who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (1995-2004) was assembled by using linked hospital and pharmacy claims data. Rates of statin use after hospital discharge were calculated, and predictors of postoperative statin use were identified by using generalized estimating equations.

RESULTS

Overall, 35.9% of patients received statins within 90 days of coronary artery bypass graft surgery discharge. Use of statins within 90 days after coronary artery bypass graft surgery steadily improved during the study period, from 13.1% in 1995 to 60.9% in 2004. Patient factors independently associated with an increase in postoperative statin therapy included preoperative statin use (odds ratio, 7.69), later year of operation (odds ratio, 1.22 per additional year), and additional postoperative medications (odds ratio, 1.16 per additional medication). Factors independently associated with a decrease in postoperative statin therapy included peripheral vascular disease (odds ratio, 0.60), diabetes mellitus (odds ratio, 0.67), stroke (odds ratio, 0.77), and older age (odds ratio, 0.96 per additional year). Surgeon and hospital characteristics were not independently associated with postoperative statin use.

CONCLUSIONS

Statins are considerably underused after coronary artery bypass graft surgery, although recent prescription rates are increasing. Patterns of use do not appear to correlate with coronary artery disease risk. These findings highlight the need for targeted quality improvement initiatives to increase the rate of statin administration to this at-risk population.

Lamotrigine therapy in elderly patients with epilepsy, bipolar disorder or dementia

INTRODUCTION

In spite of circumstances that precipitate high use of anticonvulsants in geriatric populations, there is a paucity of data on the use of antiepileptic drugs in elderly patients with psychiatric and neurological disorders.

METHODS

Reports of lamotrigine therapy in elderly patients with epilepsy, bipolar disorder (BD), or dementia were identified by conducting an electronic search of major publication databases. Abstracts and presentations from professional meetings were searched as were the bibliographies of relevant articles.

RESULTS

Fourteen reports were identified, and included well-controlled prospective trials, retrospective analyses, and case reports of lamotrigine treatment. Controlled trials in elderly patients with epilepsy demonstrate efficacy and tolerability comparable to gabapentin. Improvement in bipolar depressive symptoms, improvement in core manic symptoms, and delay in mood relapse was reported in geriatric patients with BD. Preliminary case studies in patients with dementia note improvement in cognition and symptoms of agitation and depression.

CONCLUSION

Review of the available literature suggests lamotrigine is effective and well tolerated in elderly patients with epilepsy and relatively well-tolerated and may be effective in delaying mood relapse, particularly in the depressive pole, in patients with BD. While very limited literature suggests that lamotrigine may be effective and relatively well-tolerated in patients with dementia, further studies are needed.

Prise en charge de la maladie d'Alzheimer

Management of Alzheimer disease is based on drug and nondrug treatments. Specific drug treatment includes acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and memantine. They show moderate efficacy superior to that of placebo for global condition, cognitive disorders, need for care, and behavioral problems, but do not prevent further decline. These treatments remain underused. The efficacy of psychotropic drugs (antidepressants, neuroleptics, and antipsychotic agents) in treating behavioral problems is not well documented. Nondrug activities and interventions have not been sufficiently evaluated scientifically. These involve interventions against the consequences of the disease (loss of autonomy, malnutrition) and helping patients' family caregivers. Among these activities, the best evaluated and most interesting are: educational programs for caregivers, occupational therapy at home, and interventions at home by nurses specially trained as case managers.

Off-label use of antipsychotics: are we mad?

The off-label prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to psychiatric patients of all ages is very common. Such off-label use is a necessary part of the art of psychiatry but brings with it increased responsibilities for the prescriber as, if the patient suffered an adverse reaction, liability would rest with the prescriber and/or their employers. This article reviews the frequency and nature of the off-label prescribing of antipsychotic drugs for psychiatric indications to children, adults and the elderly. It also reviews the evidence base for doing so in a variety of common, and also some less common, clinical situations. The review is mainly concerned with off-label indications but a short section on high dose antipsychotics is also included. The review concludes that the off-label prescription of antipsychotics frequently lacks the support of robust clinical trials. When prescribing off-label, the prescriber must carry out a careful risk assessment of the risks and benefits for the individual patient. They should also inform the patient that the prescription is off-label.

All-cause mortality associated with atypical and typical antipsychotics in demented outpatients

PURPOSE

To estimate the association between use of typical and atypical antipsychotics and all-cause mortality in a population of demented outpatients.

METHODS

The study cohort comprised all demented patients older than 65 years and registered in the Integrated Primary Care Information (IPCI) database, during 1996-2004. First, mortality rates were calculated during use of atypical and typical antipsychotics. Second, we assessed the association between use of atypical and typical antipsychotics and all-cause mortality through a nested case-control study in the cohort of demented patients. Each case was matched to all eligible controls at the date of death by age and duration of dementia. Odds ratios were estimated through conditional logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

The crude mortality rate was 30.1 (95%CI: 18.2-47.1) and 25.2 (21.0-29.8) per 100 person-years (PY) during use of atypical and typical antipsychotics, respectively. No significant difference in risk of death was observed between current users of atypical and typical antipsychotics (OR = 1.3; 95%CI: 0.7-2.4). Both types of antipsychotics were associated with a significantly increased risk of death as compared to non-users (OR = 2.2, 1.2-3.9 for atypical antipsychotics; OR=1.7, 1.3-2.2 for typical antipsychotics).

CONCLUSIONS

Conventional antipsychotic drug should be included in the FDA's Public Health advisory, which currently warns only of the increased risk of death with the use of atypical antipsychotics in elderly demented persons.

The Medical License Number Accurately Identifies the Prescribing Physician in a Large Pharmacy Claims Database

BACKGROUND

Medical license numbers that identify physicians in pharmacy claims data are used increasingly for both research and quality improvement efforts; however, little is known about how well this information identifies the physician who wrote the prescription. We studied the accuracy of the medical license number in data from a state-run drug benefit plan by assessing its consistency with 2 external sources of data.

METHODS

We studied a cohort of new users of osteoporosis medications who participated in Medicare and a state-run pharmaceutical benefit program. The medical license number from the prescription data were merged with the American Medical Association's (AMA) Masterfile to determine if the physician on the pharmacy claim existed in the AMA directory and practiced in the area under study. The prescription data were then merged with Medicare Part B data to determine if the physician on the prescription had an outpatient visit with the patient who received the medication.

RESULTS

Of the 40,002 index prescriptions, 38,671 (96.7%) were written by physicians or doctors of osteopathy. Of those, 38,618 (99.9%) could be matched to the AMA Masterfile of which 37,375 (98%) had a local address. Of the AMA-matched prescriptions with a valid Unique Physician Identification Number (UPIN), 28,888 (96.1%) could be matched to Medicare Part B data, indicating that the physician whose license number appeared on the prescription had at least 1 outpatient visit with the patient who received the medication.

CONCLUSIONS

The state medical license number in the pharmacy claims dataset studied seems to identify the prescribing physician with a high degree of accuracy.

Risk of death associated with antipsychotic drug dispensing in residential aged care facilities

OBJECTIVE

To establish the instantaneous relative risk (RR) associated with the dispensing of individual antipsychotic drugs, carbamazepine and valproate for those > or = 65 years who resided in an aged care facility.

METHOD

The risk of death for incident users of antipsychotic drugs, carbamazepine and valproate in 2003 or 2004 who resided in an aged care facility was established using mortality rates and Cox proportional hazards models over two time periods. The regression models were adjusted for age, gender, medical and psychotropic drug dispensing, and a measure of overall medical comorbidity. Olanzapine users formed the referent group.

RESULTS

Haloperidol and chlorpromazine use were associated with the highest death rates. The instantaneous RR for those dispensed haloperidol was 1.67 (95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.50-1.84, p < 0.001) and for chlorpromazine it was 1.75 (95%CI = 1.31-2.34, p < 0.001). The RR of death for haloperidol and chlorpromazine was higher in the regression model restricted to 60 days follow up (haloperidol RR = 2.17, 95%CI = 1.86-2.53, p < 0.001, chlorpromazine RR = 2.72, 95%CI = 1.84-4.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The increased risk associated with haloperidol and chlorpromazine dispensing should be interpreted cautiously because confounding by medical illness cannot be excluded despite adjusting the model for multiple variables. This study supports the findings from other data linkage studies that atypical antipsychotic medications are not associated with increased risk of death compared with conventional antipsychotic drugs.

The sedation of critically ill adults: part 2: management

The prevention and treatment of pain, anxiety, and delirium in the ICU are important goals. But achieving a balance between sedation and analgesia, especially in critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation, can be challenging. Both under- and oversedation carry grave risks. Without having an agreed-upon end point for sedation, different providers will likely have disparate treatment goals, increasing the risk of iatrogenic complications and possibly impeding recovery. In 2002 the Society of Critical Care Medicine, along with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, updated recommendations in its clinical practice guidelines for the sustained use of sedatives and analgesics in adults. This two-part series examines those recommendations concerning sedation assessment and management, as well as the current literature. Last month, Part 1 reviewed pertinent recommendations concerning pain and delirium and discussed tools for assessing pain, delirium, and sedation. This month, Part 2 explores pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic management of anxiety and agitation in the ICU. The second in a two-part series focuses on the pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic management of anxiety and agitation in the ICU.

Digoxin and mortality in atrial fibrillation: a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

The Atrial Fibrillation Follow-up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) study showed that rhythm-control treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) offered no survival advantage over a rate-control strategy. In a subgroup analysis of that study, it was found that digoxin increased the death rate [relative risk (RR) = 1.42), but it was suggested that this may have been attributable to prescription of digoxin for patients at greater risk of death, such as those with congestive heart failure (CHF). No study has investigated a priori the effect of digoxin on mortality in patients with AF. This study aimed to address this question.

METHODS

Using data from the Registry of Information and Knowledge about Swedish Heart Intensive care Admissions (RIKS-HIA), we studied the 1-year mortality among patients admitted to coronary care units with AF, CHF, or AF+CHF with or without digoxin (n = 60,764) during 1995-2003. Adjustment for differences in background characteristics and other medications and treatments was made by propensity scoring.

RESULTS

Twenty percent of patients with AF without CHF in this cohort were discharged with digoxin. This group had a higher mortality rate than the corresponding group not given digoxin [adjusted RR 1.42 (95% CI 1.29-1.56)], whereas no such difference was seen among patients with CHF with or without AF, although these patients had a nearly three-times higher mortality.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that long-term therapy with digoxin is an independent risk factor for death in patients with AF without CHF.

Antipsychotic use at adult ambulatory care visits by patients with mental health disorders in the United States, 1996-2003: national estimates and associated factors

OBJECTIVES

This retrospective analysis was conducted to derive national estimates of typical, atypical, and combination (typical-atypical) antipsychotic use and to examine factors associated with their use at adult (age >>-18 years) ambulatory care visits by patients with mental health disorders in the United States.

METHODS

Data on adult visits with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis code for a mental health disorder were extracted from the office-based National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the outpatient facilitybased National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 1996 through 2003. The visits were categorized according to whether use of a typical, atypical, or combination antipsychotic was mentioned (either prescribed, supplied, administered, ordered, or continued at the visits). Total weighted visit estimates, weighted visit percentages, and 95% CIs were calculated across the 3 types of visit groups. Bivariate analysis was performed on the association between selected characteristics and the 3 visit groups. Multivariate logistic regression was performed on factors associated with atypical versus typical antipsychotic use.

RESULTS

During the 8-year period, there were an estimated 47.7 million adult ambulatory care visits involving a mental health disorder and mention of an antipsychotic (weighted percent: 0.83%; 95% CI, 0.73-0.93). From 1996/1997 to 2002/2003, visits involving atypical and combination antipsychotics increased by 195% and 149%, respectively, and visits involving typical antipsychotics decreased by 71%. Men, blacks, and those with public insurance made more visits in which combination antipsychotics rather than typical or atypical antipsychotics were mentioned. Relative to typical or combination antipsychotic visits, more atypical antipsychotic visits involved antide-pressants (weighted percent: 61.23% atypical, 37.29% typical, and 38.32% combination). Fewer atypical antipsychotic visits compared with typical or combination antipsychotic visits involved psychotic disorders (weighted percent: 32.94%, 51.23%, and 69.93%, respectively) and medications for extrapyramidal symptoms (weighted percent: 6.69%, 29.95%, and 36.64%). In multivariate analyses controlling for sex, race, diagnosis of schizophrenia, region, diagnosis of anxiety, and recent years, atypical versus typical antipsychotic use was significantly less likely at visits by those aged 41 to 64 years compared with those aged 18 to 40 years (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.47-0.84; P = 0.002); significantly less likely at visits by those with public compared with private insurance (Medicare OR = 0.59 [95% CI, 0.40-0.88], P = 0.010; Medicaid OR = 0.44 [95% CI, 0.28-0.69], P < 0.001); and significantly more likely at visits associated with depression compared with those not associated with depression (OR = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.26-2.93; P = 0.003) and those associated with bipolar disorder compared with those not associated with bipolar disorder (OR = 2.10; 95% CI, 1.32-3.36; P = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

This retrospective analysis found more atypical than typical or combination antipsychotic use at US ambulatory care visits by adults with mental health disorders other than schizophrenia or psychoses in the period studied. Atypical versus typical antipsychotic use was significantly less likely at visits by adults aged 41 to 64 years and those with public insurance, but significantly more likely at visits by those with depression or bipolar disorder.

Developments in post-marketing comparative effectiveness research

Physicians and insurers need to weigh the effectiveness of new drugs against existing therapeutics in routine care to make decisions about treatment and formularies. Because Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of most new drugs requires demonstrating efficacy and safety against placebo, there is limited interest by manufacturers in conducting such head-to-head trials. Comparative effectiveness research seeks to provide head-to-head comparisons of treatment outcomes in routine care. Health-care utilization databases record drug use and selected health outcomes for large populations in a timely way and reflect routine care, and therefore may be the preferred data source for comparative effectiveness research. Confounding caused by selective prescribing based on indication, severity, and prognosis threatens the validity of non-randomized database studies that often have limited details on clinical information. Several recent developments may bring the field closer to acceptable validity, including approaches that exploit the concepts of proxy variables using high-dimensional propensity scores, within-patient variation of drug exposure using crossover designs, and between-provider variation in prescribing preference using instrumental variable (IV) analyses.

Efficacy and safety of galantamine in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies: a 24-week open-label study

BACKGROUND

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a common dementia of the elderly. A significant cholinergic deficit has been demonstrated that may be responsive to treatment by cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs).

METHODS

A 24-week, open-label study was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of a ChEI, galantamine, in 50 patients with DLB.

RESULTS

This study showed beneficial effects with galantamine in 2 of the 3 primary efficacy parameters. The scores on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-12) improved by 8.24 points from baseline (p = 0.01) especially in visual hallucinations and nighttime behaviors (p = 0.004). The scores on the Clinician's Global Impression of Change improved by 0.5 points from baseline (p = 0.01). The third primary efficacy parameter, the Cognitive Drug Research Computerized Cognitive Assessment System, was unchanged from baseline. Adverse events were generally mild and transient.

CONCLUSION

Galantamine appears to be an effective and safe therapy for patients with DLB.