7 new findings on the use of restraint in Australian dementia patients

Behavioural symptoms are common in people with dementia who present to emergency departments, and many are managed with chemical or mechanical restraint, figures show.

Key findings from a review of 100 patients with dementia who presented at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 2014 show:

1. Thirty-nine per cent of people experienced behavioural symptoms during their stay.
2. Aggressiveness (physical and verbal aggression) was the most common symptom (35%).
3. One in five patients with dementia were managed with chemical restraint