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TOLERABILITY OF CLONAZEPAM IN DEMENTED AND NON‐DEMENTED GEROPSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS
Author(s) -
CALKIN PATRICIA A.,
KUNIK MARK E.,
ORENGO CLAUDIA A.,
MOLINARI VICTOR,
WORKMAN RICHARD
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(199707)12:7<745::aid-gps626>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - clonazepam , tolerability , dementia , sedation , rating scale , brief psychiatric rating scale , psychiatry , psychology , veterans affairs , benzodiazepine , medicine , anesthesia , psychosis , adverse effect , developmental psychology , receptor , disease
Objective . The tolerability of clonazepam in geropsychiatric inpatients was examined in patients with and without a diagnosis of dementia. Design . Forward‐looking retrospective study comprising consecutive patients placed on clonazepam. Setting . A geropsychiatry unit of a large Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Patients . All geropsychiatry inpatients placed on clonazepam over a 21‐month period of time. Measure . Mini‐Mental State Examination, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Cohen‐Mansfield Agitation Inventory and the Rating Scale for Side Effects were performed at admission and discharge as part of an ongoing database. Results . Twenty‐four geropsychiatric inpatients were treated with clonazepam (mean dose of 1.2 mg for a minimum of 2 weeks) during the 21 months studied. About one half of the patients had a primary diagnosis of dementia and the remainder had a diagnosis of an affective or psychotic disorder. Two of these patients were discontinued because they had responded to the acute need for clonazepam and a third patient was discontinued because of the development of sedation and confusion. For the remaining 21 patients, scores improved significantly on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ( p =0.017), the Cohen‐Mansfield Agitation Inventory ( p =0.011), the Rating Scale for Side Effects (0.004) and the Global Assessment of Functioning ( p =0.000), with no differences in amount of improvement between demented and non‐demented patient groups. Scores on the Mini‐Mental State Examination remained unchanged. Conclusion . Clonazepam shows promise as a benzodiazepine with good tolerability in the elderly. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.