Special Circumstances of Persons with Dementia and Agitation in Hospice Care.

Approximately 45% of patients with dementia will experience agitation in the last stages of disease. Furthermore, approximately 35% of patients in the late stages of their lives will present agitation despite being treated with lorazepam, morphine, and atypical antipsychotics. Since agitation is particularly prevalent in hospice care, we estimate that at least 45% of the subjects with dementia in hospice care, or approximately 80,000 individuals a year, will die suffering from symptoms of agitation.