[Therapy strategies for repetitive vocalizations in dementia : A systematic review]

Vocalizations in dementia patients are repetitive verbal expressions that, due to their volume, frequency, and/or social inappropriateness, cause negative effects on patients and other individuals present. The prevalence ranges up to 30%. Given the increasing global incidence of dementia and the limited number of randomized controlled trials about treating repetitive vocalizations, this systematic review provides a summary of existing works on the effectiveness of potential pharmacotherapeutic and nonpharmacological therapies.

The systematic review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and was registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) registration page (registration number: CRD42023486344). Literature search was conducted in PubMed and Embase databases. Due to insufficient data, case reports were also included.

Of 2635 articles, 25 studies were included in the review. Efficacy was demonstrated for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), pregabalin, gabapentin, and the antipsychotics haloperidol and risperidone based on a few case reports, albeit with associated side effects. Nonpharmacological interventions also showed efficacy.

Both pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions are effective treatment approaches for repetitive vocalizations in dementia patients. Due to the fact that there are hardly any randomized controlled studies available, the results of this systematic review must be interpreted with caution. The results of this review show that randomized controlled trials are required for many interventions.