Memantine dosing in patients with dementia

To examine the dosing of memantine in patients with dementia admitted to an inpatient geriatric psychiatry ward and review the published literature regarding the pharmacologic and clinical need to dose adjust memantine.

A retrospective study was conducted involving patients, admitted over a 2-year-period, with a diagnosis of dementia and receiving memantine. Published clinical trials, pharmacokinetic studies, and clinical trial registry data were used to investigate relationships among dose, efficacy, and side effects.

Of the 70 patients comprising the study sample, 27% were not prescribed appropriate doses of memantine at the time of admission. Notably, 60% of those patients who should had memantine renally dose-adjusted were not prescribed the adjusted dose. Trial and pharmacokinetic data support the need to renally adjust memantine.

Appropriate dosing of memantine in patients with dementia is important in an effort to maximize the medication's safety and efficacy.