Better Pain Management May Prevent Use of Antipsychotics

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A study in the current BMJ found that a systemic approach to the management of pain significantly reduced agitation in nursing home residents with moderate to severe dementia. Better pain management, say the authors, could reduce the wide use of antipsychotic medications in a population in which agitation is common and thus the risk of experiencing dangerous side effects, such as stroke or even death. The researchers had speculated that pain may be the cause of many of these patients’ agitation. More information on the negative impact of antipsychotics on elderly people appears in Psychiatric News at http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/13/20.1.full.