Quality of life, care dependency and Paracetamol In advanced Dementia: is paracetamol the panacea to improve quality of life?

Abstract

Persons with dementia may not always be able to set their own goals and expectations. When persons with dementia are no longer able to assess their own Quality of life (QoL), family, friends and professional caregivers need to be their voice, as they are most familiar with their values, goals and needs. QoL in persons with advanced dementia is influenced by many factors, such as environment, background and psychological factors such as depression and agitation.

The Q-PID study was a 13-week double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled crossover trial that assessed the effect of paracetamol on QoL, discomfort, pain, neuropsychiatric symptoms, care dependency and daily functioning in 95 persons with moderate to advanced dementia living in long-term care facilities (LTCF).

This thesis provides evidence that administration of paracetamol or placebo alone is not effective, i.e., no ‘panacea’, for improving QoL, discomfort, pain, neuropsychiatric symptoms, care dependency and daily

functioning in persons with advanced dementia living in LTCF. Personalizing interventions, collaboration between different health care workers and family/friends, and combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions are important to maintain the best QoL possible, and we recognize that this will be challenging, but not impossible.