Effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral unit on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia

Introduction. - Cognitive-behavioral units (CBUs) have been created in the context of the national Alzheimer plan 2008/2012 for the management of behavioral disorders of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease or related diseases. The Alzheimer plan promotes the evaluation of these units through the observation of the evolution of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the memory center of Lyon (hospices civils de Lyon) CBU on BPSD. Patients. - The neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI) was rated by the patients' caregiver (NPI-F) at admission to the CBU and 2 weeks after the discharge. The NPI was also rated by the nursing staff (NPI-NS) 3 days after admission in the CBU and at discharge. Results. - All patients admitted in the CBU between July and October 2001 were included in the study for a total of 28 patients. A significant reduction of NPI-F scores between admission (58.93 +/- 24.8) and 2 weeks after the discharge (27.07 +/- 19.70) (P < 0.0001) was observed. Improvement was specifically observed for delusions, agitation, depression, anxiety, disinhibition and aberrant motor activity symptoms. No significant changes were found on NPI-NS scores. Conclusion. - This study discloses benefits of CBUs in terms of BPSD reduction in patients 2 weeks after CBU discharge. These units have the potential to achieve their principal objective of reducing behavioral problems. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.