Antipsychotic treatment patterns in Alzheimer's disease patients with agitation: a cohort study using the UK clinical practice research datalink

Objectives There is a lack of robust epidemiological evidence on antipsychotic (AP) use in patients with agitation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Authors studied AP use in patients with AD and agitation and compared their use with patients with other or no neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS). Methods A retrospective cohort study in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink, included patients with AD between January 1(st), 2015, and December 31(st), 2017. AP use was compared between patients with agitation, other types of NPS and no NPS. Results There were 24,464 patients with AD, median follow-up of 1.1 years (interquartile range [IQR] 0.5-2.1), and median age 83 years (78-88). A larger percentage of patients with agitation (n = 2432) were prescribed APs (38.2%) than other NPS (n = 13,076, 20.4%) and no NPS (n = 11,816, 12.2%). Compared to patients with no NPS, adjusted hazard ratios for AP use were 3.45 (95% CI 2.86-4.17) for patients with agitation and 1.31 (95% CI 1.19-1.44) for patients with other NPS. Among users of APs, the treatment discontinuation rate at six months was 44.8% in patients with agitation (other NPS 57.1%; no NPS 63.5%). Conclusions Patients with AD and agitation were frequently prescribed APs and for long periods in routine clinical practice in the UK. The high real-life usage of APs suggests that physicians prefer using APs for the treatment of agitation despite recommendations against their long-term use. These data support a need for AP therapies that better address known safety concerns with currently used APs to treat agitation in elderly patients with AD.

Automated summary

This study examined the use of antipsychotic medications in patients with Alzheimer's disease and agitation, and found that patients with agitation were frequently prescribed antipsychotics in routine clinical practice in the UK. The high usage of antipsychotics suggests a need for better therapies to address safety concerns in elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease.