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Medication Strategies: Switching, Tapering, Cross-Over, Overmedication, Drug-Drug Interactions, and Discontinuation Syndromes

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Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry

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Abstract

Psychotropic medications are known to cause a heightened risk of significant adverse effects in the geriatric population, including falls, hip fractures, delirium, and over-sedation. Geriatric patients may experience these and other adverse effects due to altered pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, which must be considered when prescribing or changing regimens. The aged are also more likely to be prescribed multiple medications due to concurrent illnesses, with a higher risk of medication-related problems. Strategies are offered for switching, tapering, and cross-tapering of psychotropics to enhance efficacy and to minimize discontinuation syndromes and other adverse effects.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Elizabeth Kozyra

  2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Department of Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry Inpatient Unit, The Royal, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Timothy Lau

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Kozyra
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  2. Timothy Lau
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Timothy Lau .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Stanford/VA Alzheimer’s Center, VA Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Howard H. Fenn

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Ana Hategan

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Baylor Scott and White Central Texas, Division College of Medicine, Texas A & M University, Health Science Center, Temple, TX, USA

    James A. Bourgeois

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Kozyra, E., Lau, T. (2019). Medication Strategies: Switching, Tapering, Cross-Over, Overmedication, Drug-Drug Interactions, and Discontinuation Syndromes. In: Fenn, H., Hategan, A., Bourgeois, J. (eds) Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10401-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10401-6_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-10400-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-10401-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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