[Drug prescription in Italian Residential Facilities].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate in a representative national sample (N=2,962) of patients living in Residential Facilities (RFs) patterns of polypharmacy as well as related variables, association between diagnoses and therapeutic patterns, and the rate of adverse events.


METHODS
Structured interviews focusing on each patient were conducted by trained research assistants with the manager and staff of each RF. Patients were rated with the HoNOS and the SOFAS, and comprehensive information about their sociodemographic and clinical status, and their pharmacological regimes were collected.


RESULTS
Conventional antipsychotics and second-generation antipsychotics were prescribed to 65% and 43% of the sample, respectively. Benzodiazepines were prescribed to two-thirds of the sample, while antidepressants were the least-used class of psychotropics. Polypharmacy was common: on average, each treated patient was taking 2.7 drugs (+/- 1.1); antipsychotic polypharmacy was also common. Many prescriptions were loosely related to specific diagnoses. Antiparkinsonianian drugs were prescribed to approximately 1/4 of the sample. Mild or severe adverse events in the previous month were reported for 9.9% and 1.4% of the sample, respectively. About 15% of patients suffered from tardive dyskinesia.


CONCLUSIONS
Psychotropic drug prescription patterns for severe patients living in RFs are only sometimes satisfactory and offer the opportunity of improvement. Specific actions are required to improve prescription patterns for severe patients in RFs.
Servizio Psichiatrico, AS di Bolzano, Bolzano.
Rodolfo
R
Tomasi
Giovanni
G
de Girolamo
Giovanni
G
Santone
Angelo
A
Picardi
Rocco
R
Micciolo
Domenico
D
Semisa
Silva
S
Fava
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000208:ethnology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019338:Polypharmacy; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs