Systematic pain management reduced agitation in nursing home residents with dementia

Hirsch comments on a study by Husebo et al examining whether systematic use of analgesics reduce agitation in nursing home residents with moderate-to-severe dementia. Results show that in nursing home residents with moderate-to-severe dementia, systematic use of analgesics reduced agitation during treatment but not after treatment was stopped. Here, he stresses that given the limited efficacy and potential harm associated with antipsychotic drugs, safer ways to control agitation are needed. Empirical administration of pain medication, even when based on pain assessments, should not be a substitute for a broader, systematic evaluation of unmet needs, such as that described in the Serial Trial Intervention.