Research on treating neuropsychiatric symptoms of advanced dementia with non-pharmacological strategies, 1998-2008: a systematic literature review.
BACKGROUND
Advanced dementia is characterized by severe cognitive and functional impairments that lead to almost total dependency in self-care. Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in advanced dementia, diminishing quality of life and increasing the care burden. The challenge for health care providers is to find safe and effective treatments. Non-pharmacological interventions offer the potential for safer alternatives to pharmacotherapy, but little is known about their efficacy. This review evaluates the published literature on non-pharmacological interventions for treating NPS in advanced dementia.


METHODS
A literature search was undertaken to find non-pharmacological intervention studies published between 1998 and 2008 that measured NPS outcomes in individuals diagnosed with advanced dementia. Strict inclusion criteria initially required that all study participants have severe or very severe dementia, but this range was later broadened to include moderately severe to very severe stages.


RESULTS
Out of 215 intervention studies, 21 (9.8%) specifically focused on treatments for individuals with moderately severe to very severe dementia. The studies provide limited moderate to high quality evidence for the use of sensory-focused strategies, including aroma, preferred or live music, and multi-sensory stimulation. Emotion-oriented approaches, such as simulated presence may be more effective for individuals with preserved verbal interactive capacity.


CONCLUSIONS
Most studies of interventions for dementia-related NPS have focused on individuals with mild to moderate cognitive impairment. Individuals with severe cognitive impairment do not necessarily respond to NPS treatments in the same manner. Future studies should be specifically designed to further explore the stage-specific efficacy of non-pharmacological therapies for patients with advanced dementia. Areas of particular need for further research include movement-based therapies, hands-on (touch) therapies, and interventions that can be provided during personal care routines. Interventions appear to work best when they are tailored to balance individual arousal patterns.
Kverno
Karan S
KS
The University of Maryland School of Nursing, Department of Family and Community Health, Baltimore, 21201, USA. kverno@son.umaryland.edu
Black
Betty S
BS
Nolan
Marie T
MT
Rabins
Peter V
PV
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003704:Dementia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D004644:Emotions; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D026441:Mind-Body Therapies; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012677:Sensation; D016896:Treatment Outcome