Table 4.
Non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatment patterns among patients with agitation and dementia initiated on an antipsychotic in residential care and community-based settings
| All Patients | Residential Care Setting | Community-Based Setting | P | |
| (N = 801) | (n = 312) | (n = 489) | ||
| Non-pharmacological therapy for agitation before index date | ||||
| Use of non-pharmacological therapy, n (%) | <0.01** | |||
| Yes | 222 (27.7) | 118 (37.8) | 104 (21.3) | |
| No | 481 (60.0) | 162 (51.9) | 319 (65.2) | |
| Unknown | 98 (12.2) | 32 (10.3) | 66 (13.5) | |
| Duration of non-pharmacological therapy, n (%)* | <0.01** | |||
| Less than 1 month | 43 (19.4) | 30 (25.4) | 13 (12.5) | |
| 1–3 months | 83 (37.4) | 46 (39.0) | 37 (35.6) | |
| 4–6 months | 32 (14.4) | 16 (13.6) | 16 (15.4) | |
| 7–12 months | 14 (6.3) | 8 (6.8) | 6 (5.8) | |
| More than 12 months | 8 (3.6) | 6 (5.1) | 2 (1.9) | |
| Ongoing | 25 (11.3) | 6 (5.1) | 19 (18.3) | |
| Unknown | 7 (7.7) | 6 (5.1) | 11 (10.6) | |
| Type(s) of non-pharmacological therapy used if applicable, n (%)*, † | ||||
| Sensory interventions | 116 (52.3) | 71 (60.2) | 45 (43.3) | <0.01** |
| Active therapy/structured activities | 137 (61.7) | 80 (67.8) | 57 (54.8) | <0.01** |
| Complementary alternative medicine | 39 (17.6) | 27 (22.9) | 12 (11.5) | <0.01** |
| Psychological therapy | 84 (37.8) | 50 (42.4) | 34 (32.7) | <0.01** |
| Other | 1 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.0) | <0.01** |
| Antipsychotic treatment for agitation | ||||
| No. of different antipsychotic agents received, n (%)‡ | <0.05** | |||
| One | 698 (87.1) | 257 (82.4) | 441 (90.2) | |
| Two | 72 (9.0) | 37 (11.9) | 35 (7.2) | |
| Three or more | 31 (3.9) | 18 (5.8) | 13 (2.7) | |
| First antipsychotic agent received among those who received 2 or more antipsychotic agents, n (%) | 0.73 | |||
| Quetiapine | 20 (19.4) | 8 (14.5) | 12 (25.0) | |
| Haloperidol | 17 (16.5) | 10 (18.2) | 7 (14.6) | |
| Risperidone | 14 (13.6) | 8 (14.5) | 6 (12.5) | |
| Aripiprazole | 13 (12.6) | 8 (14.5) | 5 (10.4) | |
| Olanzapine | 6 (5.8) | 4 (7.3) | 2 (4.2) | |
| Ziprasidone | 4 (3.9) | 3 (5.5) | 1 (2.1) | |
| Other/unknown | 29 (28.2) | 14 (25.5) | 15 (31.3) | |
| Second antipsychotic agent received among those who received 3 or more antipsychotic agents, n (%) | 0.21 | |||
| Quetiapine | 2 (6.5) | 0 (0) | 2 (15.4) | |
| Haloperidol | 2 (6.5) | 1 (5.6) | 1 (7.7) | |
| Risperidone | 3 (9.7) | 3 (16.7) | 0 (0) | |
| Aripiprazole | 2 (6.5) | 1 (5.6) | 1 (7.7) | |
| Olanzapine | 3 (9.7) | 3 (16.7) | 0 (0) | |
| Ziprasidone | 1 (3.2) | 1 (5.6) | 0 (0) | |
| Other/unknown | 18 (58.1) | 9 (50) | 9 (69.2) |
SD, standard deviation. *Evaluated among patients using non-pharmacological therapy: sensory (e.g., music therapy, light therapy, pet therapy, multisensory stimulation), active therapy/structured activities (e.g., dancing, exercise, art therapy, social interaction), complimentary alternative medicine (e.g., aromatherapy, reflexology, massage), and psychological therapy (e.g., validation therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation training). **Indicates statistical significance at the 5% level. †Categories are non-mutually exclusive. ‡Number of different antipsychotic agents received including the antipsychotic agent initiated on the index date. Of note, a patient may have received different agents in combination (i.e., not necessarily over the course of separate lines of therapy). In addition, a patient may have received the same agent more than once over the course of separate lines of therapy.