Clinical practice with antidementia and antipsychotic drugs: Audit from a geriatric clinic in India

BACKGROUND: Dementia is one of the most disabling disorders afflicting the elderly, with a staggering emotional and economic impact. Antidementia agents have been used for delaying cognitive decline. Antipsychotics are commonly prescribed for behavioral symptoms associated with dementia. OBJECTIVES: To explore the use of anti-dementing agents and antipsychotics used in patients with a diagnosis of dementia MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review method; geriatric clinic of tertiary care setting. RESULTS: The study sample included 51 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of dementia. The commonest subtype of dementia that was diagnosed was Alzheimer's disease (45%), followed by Frontotemporal dementia (25%).The commonest antidementia drug that was used was donepezil, which alone was prescribed in 27 patients (52%). The commonest antipsychotic used was quetiapine, which was used in 24 patients (47%). CONCLUSIONS: The study found donepezil to be the most commonly prescribed antidementia drug and quetiapine to be the most commonly used antipsychotic in a tertiary care geriatric clinic, in a developing country. There is a need to study the cost-effectiveness of antidementia and antipsychotic drugs in patients with dementia, in developing countries.