Atypical antipsychotics for elderly patients: to prescribe or to ban?
Rollini, M.; Schulz, P.
Revue Medicale Suisse 4(153): 979
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 1660-9379 PMID: 18549086 Document Number: 615540
Behavioural problems, excitement, aggressiveness, delusions, hallucinations and other neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in elderly persons, in the presence of dementia or delirium. Antipsychotics are widely used to treat these problems. The atypical antipsychotics can be usefully prescribed to elderly patients, but their efficacy remains limited and they induce side effects, notably metabolic, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular ones.