Antipsychotics Treat One in Five American Nursing Home Residents with Dementia, not Anti-dementia Drugs, New Study Shows
Despite the announcement of a federal crackdown on inappropriate antipsychotics use in nursing homes, more than 20 percent of nursing home residents in America are treated with antipsychotic medication for their dementia, says a Medicalxpress article. Referencing a recently published study, the article reports that, although certain antidementia medications exist, a fifth of American nursing homes opt to rely on antipsychotic drugs, a practice often deemed to be nursing home malpractice.
Researchers for the study discovered the following overall statistics: 20.9 percent of nursing home residents with dementia used antipsychotics, while 39.4 percent used antidementia drugs (with 23.3 percent using cholinesterase inhibitors and 16.1 percent using memantine).
According to the study, nursing homes located in geographic regions that showed the highest general health care use were more likely to utilize antidementia medicines, whereas nursing homes with histories of using physical restraints or with poor staffing rankings showed greater antipsychotic use. The article noted that antipsychotics carry an FDA black box warning for their use in the elderly, thanks to their dangerous side effects and increased mortality (necessitating the intervention of a wrongful death attorney); however, the study did not comment on how the use of antipsychotics equates to nursing home malpractice, but only concluded that the variation in medication use for dementia suggests a need for greater guidance for residents, their families, and health care practitioners.
“About 50% of nursing home residents have Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia and there’s really a need for further research and therapeutic options,” said Matthew Alcusky, Ph.D., PharmD, who led the study.
Because antipsychotics can have a calming effect on residents with dementia, some nursing homes—such as those with staffing issues or low-income residents, according to this report by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services—rely on the drugs to make these patients easier to control; however, administering antipsychotics for patients who do not suffer from schizophrenia is not only inappropriate, but dangerous and negligent, and amounts to nursing home malpractice.
Antipsychotic use in the elderly has been linked to heart problems and cerebrovascular events; moreover, according to clinical trials, the risk of wrongful death nearly doubles for dementia patients using antipsychotics, increasingly necessitating the involvement of a wrongful death attorney.
Beyond these health issues related to antipsychotics, their use in nursing home residents is furthermore linked, thanks to the drugs’ sedative effects, with the following events of nursing home malpractice: nursing home falls and bedsores.
Fighting Nursing Home Malpractice, Elder Abuse, and Wrongful Death
Attorney Brian P. Murphy is dedicated to ensuring negligent Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes be held responsible for incidents of nursing home malpractice, including those involving the use of inappropriate medications and other neglectful acts. As an experienced nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, Brian Murphy fights untiringly to uphold the rights and preserve the health and safety of Philadelphia/PA and NJ nursing home residents. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.
