MethodsWe led a retrospective and descriptive study. We extracted all patients aged 65 years or older who consulted the psychiatric outpatient unit at the Hedi Chaker hospital in Sfax –Tunisia between January 1 and December 31 2019 and who were treated with AP. General, clinical and therapeutic data were collected from medical records.
ResultsThe mean age of patients was 71,7 years. Medical conditions were observed in 53,1% of them. The reasons for consultation were behavioral disturbances (34,4%), insomnia (18,8%) and memory impairment (15,6%). The main retained diagnoses were dementia (40,6%), mood disorders (28,1%), delusional disorder (15,6%). The indications for prescribing antipsychotics were disruptive behavior (59,4%) and delirium/hallucinations (34,4%). Laboratory examinations and electrocardiogram were performed respectively in 46,8% and 15,6% of cases. AP treatment was prescribed in 90,6% of cases right from the first consultation. Atypical AP were prescribed in 56,2% of cases. Adverse effects were noted in 18,7% of patients. The average time to get a response was 7.3 weeks