STUDY ABOUT ANTI-DEMENTIA DRUG USE IN PRIMARY CARE

Objectives: To perform a study about the use of memantine and cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine) in primary care. Method: Cross-sectional 3-month study in five primary care units from the Santiago de Compostela (A Coruna) Healthcare Area. Results: The prevalence in the use of anti-dementia drugs is 0.36% with a 95% confidence interval (CI 95%) of 0.27% to 0.45%. No active principle is more used than the others. 96% of patients suffer from Alzheimer and 4% of Parkinson's-related dementia. 25% of these patients use memantine together with a cholinesterase inhibitor Conclusions: There is a widespread use of anti-dementia drugs even if the cognitive benefits are not yet considered as of clinical relevance. As well, the proportion of patients that use together these two anti-dementia drugs is high even if the efficacy of such association is under question.