The prescription of psychotropic drugs in psychiatric residential facilities: a national survey in Italy

Abstract

This paper reports the prescriptions of psychotropic drugs made to 2962 patients living in 265 residential facilities (RFs) in Italy. Structured interviews were administered to RF managers and staff to obtain data on patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics; information about current drug prescriptions were obtained from clinical records. Polypharmacy was common: on average, each treated patient was taking 2.7 drugs (+/-1.1). The association of one atypical antipsychotic with one benzodiazepine represented the most common prescription profile. The variable most consistently associated with a higher likelihood of receiving polypharmacy was a history of admission to an acute general hospital psychiatric ward in the previous 12 months. Many prescriptions were loosely related to specific diagnoses. Psychotropic drug prescription patterns for severe patients living in RFs are characterized by substantial rates of polypharmacy. Specific guidelines may be helpful for long-stay patients living in RFs, who exhibit complex care needs.