Back to Search
Start Over
[Adverse events causing discontinuation of donepezil for Alzheimer's dementia].
- Source :
-
Ugeskrift for laeger [Ugeskr Laeger] 2009 Dec 07; Vol. 171 (50), pp. 3690-3. - Publication Year :
- 2009
-
Abstract
- Introduction: The objective was to investigate the frequency of adverse events (AE) as a cause for discontinuation of donepezil treatment for Alzheimer's dementia (DAT) in a geriatric memory unit.<br />Material and Methods: Five-year retrospective study of 123 donepezil-treated patients diagnosed with DAT or mixed dementia in a geriatric memory unit. The material covers all patients treated with donepezil and surveyed for 12 months in the memory unit during the period from 14th March 2001 to 7th April 2006.<br />Results: Among the 123 patients, 106 (86%) suffered from DAT and 17 (14%) suffered from mixed dementia. A total of 100 (81%) were female while 23 (19%) were male. The median age was 84 years. In all, 26 (21%) patients discontinued treatment due to AE. The most frequent AE were nausea/vomiting, diarrhoea and loss of appetite.<br />Conclusion: In 21% of the cases treatment was discontinued within 12 months due to AE. The most frequent AEs were nausea/vomiting, diarrhoea and loss of appetite. For the most part discontinuation took place within the initial three months. However, some treatments were not discontinued until after six months; consequently, treatment should be supervised and patients should have easy access to a memory unit in the case of AE.
- Subjects :
- Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Appetite drug effects
Diarrhea chemically induced
Donepezil
Female
Humans
Male
Nausea chemically induced
Retrospective Studies
Vomiting chemically induced
Alzheimer Disease drug therapy
Cholinesterase Inhibitors adverse effects
Indans adverse effects
Nootropic Agents adverse effects
Piperidines adverse effects
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- Danish
- ISSN :
- 1603-6824
- Volume :
- 171
- Issue :
- 50
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Ugeskrift for laeger
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 20003864