ArticleJournal of Alzheimer's disease reports2023
Characterizing PRN Use of Psychotropic Medications for Acute Agitation in Canadian Long-Term Care Residents with Dementia Before and During COVID-19.
Article in Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Psychotropic use for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2024Pooled it
- It is Not Only About Staying Alive: A Living Systematic Review of Social Care Strategies for Older Adults in Residential Care Facilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of social work (London, England) · 2026Article
- Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Psychotropic Medication Use Following SARS-Cov-2 Infection Among Elderly Residents in Long-Term Care Facilities.Canadian geriatrics journal : CGJ · 2025Article
- Developing education to confront challenges with dyadic communication while wearing facemasks in long-term care.Geriatric nursing (New York, N.Y.)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Agitation is a disabling neuropsychiatric symptom of dementia. Pro re nata (PRN) injections of psychotropics can be administered for severe acute agitation, but little is known about the frequency of their actual use. Objective: Characterize actual use of injectable PRN psychotropics for severe acute agitation in Canadian long-term care (LTC) residents with dementia and compare use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Residents from two Canadian LTC facilities with orders for PRN haloperidol, olanzapine, or lorazepam between January 1, 2018- May 1, 2019 (i.e., pre-COVID-19) and January 1, 2020- May 1, 2021 (i.e., COVID-19) were identified. Electronic medical records were reviewed to document PRN injections of psychotropic medications and collect data on reason and demographic characteristics. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize frequency, dose, and indications of use, and multivariate regression models were used to compare use between time periods. Results: Of the 250 residents, 45 of 103 (44%) people in the pre-COVID-19 period and 85 of 147 (58%) people in the COVID-19 period with standing orders for PRN psychotropics received ≥1 injections. Haloperidol was the most frequently used agent in both time periods (74% (155/209 injections) pre-COVID-19; 81% (323/398 injections) during COVID-19). Residents in the COVID-19 period were almost two times more likely to receive injections compared with those in the pre-COVID-19 period (odds ratio = 1.96; 95% CI = 1.15-3.34; Conclusion: Our results suggest that use of PRN injections increased in LTC during the pandemic and contribute to the mounting evidence that agitation worsened during that time.
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