November 6, 2020
Topic: Valproate (Depakote) Preparations
During our weekly Clinical Education Call, GAPS Physicians discussed how to better manage an Alzheimer Dementia patient with increasingly disturbing behavioral issues. This week’s case study was about a patient who was living independently when she contracted COVID-19. She was hospitalized, then transferred to an assisted living center, then transferred back to the hospital for Congestive Heart Failure. She returned to assisted living, but was transferred to a Nursing Home because of her aggression and agitation, both of which continued to worsen.
Case study analysis / course of action:
GAPS Physicians shared “best practices” and discussed various issues
during this case study analysis, such as:
1. Review of the patients’ medications / optimization.
2. Conferring on Behavioral Health / examining root causes.
3. Clinical reasoning on when and when not to use Valproate.
4. Tips on how to manage and prevent agitation in dementia.