Agitation

Abstract

People who behave in a difficult, antisocial way, are always a problem. At some point, annoying, negative human activity must be changed. Practical realities and common sense define for me where that point lies. The term “agitation,” as I apply it to frail elderly patients, means behaviour which is negative and requires some action to change it, in cognitively impaired people who are unable to understand the significance of what they are doing. Control of agitation becomes part of medical care in extended care nursing homes and sometimes in acute care hospitals. The type of activity involved is familiar to anyone who sees patients in these settings: shouting, aggressive wandering, fighting during care, throwing food, loud repetitive swearing, and destruction of beds, chairs, or wheelchairs.