Initiation of Psycholeptic Medication During Hospitalization With Recommendation for Discontinuation After Discharge

Psycholeptic drugs have been used in the older population for years, especially to control delirium and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) of dementia. However, data from the literature confirm that the prolonged use of psycholeptics may be responsible for adverse reactions in older patients. The aim of this study was (1) to identify how many patients receive the first prescription of a psycholeptic drug during the hospital stay; (2) to evaluate the main sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of these patients; and (3) to verify if the prescribed psycholeptic drugs are continued after 3 months from the hospital discharge.