Standardizing care for agitation in Alzheimer's disease, results from a randomized controlled trial of an integrated care pathway versus usual care – the StaN trial

BACKGROUND Adherence to treatment guidelines for agitation in dementia is suboptimal and inconsistent. We designed and evaluated an Integrated Care Pathway (ICP) for the management of agitation in dementia. METHODS This was a double‐blind randomized controlled trial at 12 inpatient units and long‐term‐care homes (LTCHs) across Canada. Participants were randomized 1:1 to the ICP or treatment‐as‐usual (TAU). Primary outcomes were Cohen Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) and psychotropic polypharmacy at 12 weeks. RESULTS We randomized 185 participants (93 inpatients, 92 in LTCHs). For CMAI, there were no significant time‐by‐treatment‐group interactions among inpatients (F 4, 299.3 = 1.7, p = 0.14) or LTCH residents (F 4, 296.0 = 0.87, p = 0.48). For polypharmacy, there were significant time‐by‐treatmentgroup interactions among both inpatients (= 15.3, p = 0.032) and LTCH residents (= 30.0, p < 0.001), with lower rates of polypharmacy in the ICP group at certain time points, but not at week 12. CONCLUSIONS Standardizing care for agitation in dementia may result in lesser polypharmacy without affecting efficacy. Future studies should assess the ICP in the broader community and outpatients.