Objective: Pressure ulcers (PU) are common in patients admitted to palliative care clinics (PCC). Pregressive nutritional deficiency, incontinence, and limitation of movement increase the risk of new ...PU formation. Purpose: To examine the risk of PU in patients hospitalized in PCC andthe rate of wounds on admission. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients hospitalized between 2017 and 2019 in a PCC integrated into a tertiary health institution. Patients with demographic and clinical data, data on the region, number, and stage of PU, and Norton and Braden pressure risk scores were enrolled. Patients with scores 11 on the Norton scale and 18 on the Braden scale were considered to be at higher risk for PU. Results: The final analysis included 566 patients mean age: 68 years, male: 328 (58%). On admission, PU was recorded in 181 patients (32%) (sacrum: 80%). According to the Norton scale, 269 (47.5%) of all cases were under the risk of PU and 48.7% (n=131) of them already had PU. According to the Braden scale, 475 (83.9%) patients were at risk of PU, and 37.5% (n=178) of them already had PU. Among subjects with a low Norton score (n=297), 16% (n=50) already had PUs. Among subjects with PUs, the Norton score was not high 27.6%. Only 3.3% (n=3) of 91 patients whose Braden score was not low already had a PU. The sensitivity and specificity of the Norton score in the prediction of PU were 48.9% and 83.2%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the Braden score in the prediction of PU were 66.9% and 99.0%, respectively. Conclusion: Physical PU examination on admission to PCC and during follow-up can identify a significant number of cases. The utility of Norton and Braden scores to estimate the occurrence of PUs may be limited in the palliative care setting or patients.
Although distinct disorders, peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and dementia are both associated with a progressive decline in activities of daily living in elderly patients.
This study aimed to ...compare the functional performance scores between elderly patients with and without dementia and with or without PVD.
Patients with Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and mixed type dementia and controls were prospectively enrolled. Functional performance scores for basic activities of daily living (BADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) were evaluated using the Barthel scale and Lawton scale, respectively. PVD was diagnosed using the ankle brachial index (ABI).
Controls without PVD were age- and sex-matched with 57 patients with both dementia and PVD and with 69 patients without dementia. The patients with PVD in both groups had lower mean BALD scores. Adjusting for age, clinical dementia rating, and depression, PVD was associated with a higher likelihood of being in the quartiles of lower BADL scores in those with dementia (p=0.020). Adjusting for age, sex, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, depression, and comorbidity and drug counts among the patients without dementia, a significant association was observed with PVD and a higher likelihood of being in the quartiles of lower BADL scores (p=0.044). PVD was related to a higher likelihood of being in the quartiles of lower IADL scores in the non-dementia subjects (p=0.001) after adjusting for age, depression, MMSE, education, and comorbidity count.
PVD presence determined the poorer status of BADL in demented individuals but not of the level of IADL. It is still unclear whether modifying PVD health risks and undergoing ABI screening may help demented people become more independent.
Increased length of stay (LOS) in the palliative care unit (PCU) is a serious burden to the patients and the health care system. The predictors of longer LOS in a PCU have not been reported so far ...from Turkey. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the factors associated with the LOS in the PCU of a tertiary hospital.
This cross-sectional analysis of a retrospective cohort evaluated adult patients’ medical records admitted to the PCU between 2017 and 2019. The main inclusion criteria were 4 or more days of palliative unit stay and being discharged home during the study period. Data on demographics, chronic diseases, mobilization disability, route of feeding, tracheostomy, sleep disturbances, pressure ulcers, and antidepressant use were collected. Potential factors associated with prolonged LOS tertiles were examined by ordinal regression analysis.
A total of 287 discharges from the PCU to home were analyzed. Mean (SD) age was 70.5 (15.8) years, and there was a male predominance (55.7%). The majority of patients had malnutrition, mobility limitation, hypertension, malignant disease, and sleep disturbances. Median LOS was 15 days (4–79). Mean age, hypertension, infections, mobilization limitation, tube feeding, permanent tracheostomy, and pressure ulcers increased from the short stay tertile (4–12 days) to the medium stay tertile (13–20 days) and long stay tertile (>21 days) of LOS. Mobilization limitation p = 0.013, OR: 2.34 (95% CI: 1.19–4.60), tube feeding p = 0.001, OR: 2.63 (95% CI: 1.49–4.66), permanent tracheostomy p = 0.007, OR: 4.10 (95% CI: 1.48–11.36), and hypertension diagnosis p = 0.023, OR: 1.80, (95% CI: 1.09–2.98) on admission were associated with being in the medium stay or long stay tertiles of LOS compared to the lowest tertile.
A longer length of PCU stay is associated with mobilization limitation, tube feeding, permanent tracheostomy, and hypertension. We found no evidence that age, infections or pressure ulcers on admission were associated with extra LOS in the PCU in patients discharged home.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of geriatric syndromes and comorbid conditions, as well as their interrelationships, in individuals aged 90 years and over.
This study included ...participants aged 90 years and older who underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment in a tertiary geriatric outpatient clinic. Demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained using the electronic medical records. The geriatric syndrome burden was calculated by adding each syndrome, which was then stratified into one of two groups based on the median value: no or low burden (<4) and high burden (≥4). The modified Charlson comorbidity index was used to determine chronic disease burden.
A total of 235 participants (93.2 ± 2.7 years) were recruited in this study. The mean index score was 7.3, and 46% (n = 107) of participants had a high geriatric syndrome burden. The most common geriatric syndrome was incontinence (69%), followed by polypharmacy (60%) and depression (43%). When compared to patients without such a diagnosis, the prevalence of polypharmacy was significantly higher in patients diagnosed with hypertension, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p = 0.02, p = 0.02, p < 0.001, p = 0.008, p = 0.007, respectively). However, no chronic disease was associated with geriatric syndrome burden.
We found that the burden of medical conditions in the older population over 90 years of age could influence general health status significantly, with a high prevalence of chronic diseases and geriatric syndromes.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
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