Difficulties encountered by general practitioners during acute behavioral disturbances of their dementia patients

Alzheimer diseases and related disorders (ADRD) remain a major public health issue. The progression of the disease is dominated by behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) which are frequent and burdensome for caregivers. The aim of our survey was to study how the general practionner managed these behavioral disturbances (particularly agitation and aggressiveness) in community living patients with ADRD and support of their main caregivers. We based our study on a medical survey sent to all general practitioners (GP) practicing in four districts in Marseille near from a secure unit. Ninety five out of 260 answered to the survey and 57 had already been exposed to patients' behavioral decompensation. For these BPSD management, atypical neuroleptics and benzodiazepines were mostly prescribed, and according to the literature and guidelines. Half of the GP's recognized the weak effectiveness of this strategy. Almost all of them are interested in having a document summarizing the main strategy to be set up or a possibility to call a specialized mobile team with doctors and professionals caregivers. A few dedicated consultations were devoted to informal caregivers whereas GP were aware of negative effects of these decompensations on them. This study point out difficulties for GP to provide appropriate management for their patients with ADRD living at home and for their informal caregivers, particularly during acute behavioral disturbance, despite their practical knowledges.