Study Questions Antibiotics For Dementia Patients

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Old people with advanced dementia who are near death in nursing homes often are given antibiotics to fight infections, possibly prolonging the dying process, researchers said on Monday. The study, published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, found that 42 percent of a group of people incapacitated with advanced Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia were given antibiotics at a nursing home in the two weeks before they died.