Benefit-risk analysis for the clinician: 'primum non nocere' revisited--the case for antipsychotics in the treatment of behavioural disturbances in dementia.

The results of clinical trials are often presented in a way that only highlights either the benefits or the risks of the treatment under study. Especially in older age, clinical psychiatric problems are often of complex nature, which requires integrating multiple sources of data to reach clinical decisions. An analytical, decision-making strategy can be of help in arranging the results of various studies in such a way as to aid decision-making. In this paper, we clarify this method using the case of the risks and benefits of using antipsychotics in older people with dementia and behavioural disturbances.