scholarly journals Understanding which people with dementia are at risk of inappropriate care and avoidable transitions to hospital near the end-of-life: a retrospective cohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 672-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javiera Leniz ◽  
Irene J Higginson ◽  
Robert Stewart ◽  
Katherine E Sleeman

Abstract Background transitions between care settings near the end-of-life for people with dementia can be distressing, lead to physical and cognitive deterioration, and may be avoidable. Objective to investigate determinants of end-of-life hospital transitions, and association with healthcare use, among people with dementia. Design retrospective cohort study. Setting electronic records from a mental health provider in London, linked to national mortality and hospital data. Subjects people with dementia who died in 2007–2016. Methods end-of-life hospital transitions were defined as: multiple admissions in the last 90 days (early), or any admission in the last three days of life (late). Determinants were assessed using logistic regression. Results of 8,880 people, 1,421 (16.0%) had at least one end-of-life transition: 505 (5.7%) had early, 788 (8.9%) late, and 128 (1.5%) both types. Early transitions were associated with male gender (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.11–1.59), age (>90 vs <75 years OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.49–0.97), physical illness (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.20–1.94), depressed mood (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.17–1.90), and deprivation (most vs least affluent quintile OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.37–0.90). Care home residence was associated with fewer early (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.76) and late (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.97) transitions. Early transitions were associated with more hospital admissions throughout the last year of life compared to those with late and no transitions (mean 4.56, 1.89, 1.60; P < 0.001). Conclusions in contrast to late transitions, early transitions are associated with higher healthcare use and characteristics that are predictable, indicating potential for prevention.

2021 ◽  
pp. 026921632110198
Author(s):  
Javiera Leniz ◽  
Irene J Higginson ◽  
Deokhee Yi ◽  
Zia Ul-Haq ◽  
Amanda Lucas ◽  
...  

Background: Hospital admissions among people dying with dementia are common. It is not known whether identification of palliative care needs could help prevent unnecessary admissions. Aim: To examine the proportion of people with dementia identified as having palliative care needs in their last year of life, and the association between identification of needs and primary, community and hospital services in the last 90 days. Design: Retrospective cohort study using Discover, an administrative and clinical dataset from 365 primary care practices in London with deterministic individual-level data linkage to community and hospital records. Setting/participants: People diagnosed with dementia and registered with a general practitioner in North West London (UK) who died between 2016 and 2019. The primary outcome was multiple non-elective hospital admissions in the last 90 days of life. Secondary outcomes included contacts with primary and community care providers. We examined the association between identification of palliative care needs with outcomes. Results: Among 5804 decedents with dementia, 1953 (33.6%) were identified as having palliative care needs, including 1141 (19.7%) identified before the last 90 days of life. Identification of palliative care needs before the last 90 days was associated with a lower risk of multiple hospital admissions (Relative Risk 0.70, 95% CI 0.58–0.85) and more contacts with the primary care practice, community nurses and palliative care teams in the last 90 days. Conclusions: Further investigation of the mechanisms underlying the association between identification of palliative care needs and reduced hospital admissions could help reduce reliance on acute care for this population.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e044196
Author(s):  
Madalene Earp ◽  
Pin Cai ◽  
Andrew Fong ◽  
Kelly Blacklaws ◽  
Truong-Minh Pham ◽  
...  

ObjectiveFor eight chronic diseases, evaluate the association of specialist palliative care (PC) exposure and timing with hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life.DesignRetrospective cohort study using administrative data.SettingAlberta, Canada between 2007 and 2016.Participants47 169 adults deceased from: (1) cancer, (2) heart disease, (3) dementia, (4) stroke, (5) chronic lower respiratory disease (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)), (6) liver disease, (7) neurodegenerative disease and (8) renovascular disease.Main outcome measuresThe proportion of decedents who experienced high hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life, indicated by ≥two emergency department (ED) visit, ≥two hospital admissions,≥14 days of hospitalisation, any intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or death in hospital. Relative risk (RR) and risk difference (RD) of hospital-based acute care given early specialist PC exposure (≥90 days before death), adjusted for patient characteristics.ResultsIn an analysis of all decedents, early specialist PC exposure was associated with a 32% reduction in risk of any hospital-based acute care as compared with those with no PC exposure (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.71; RD 0.16, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.17). The association was strongest in cancer-specific analyses (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.55; RD 0.31, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.33) and renal disease-specific analyses (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.84; RD 0.22, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.34), but a~25% risk reduction was observed for each of heart disease, COPD, neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. Early specialist PC exposure was associated with reducing risk of four out of five individual indicators of high hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life, including ≥two ED visit,≥two hospital admission, any ICU admission and death in hospital.ConclusionsEarly specialist PC exposure reduced the risk of hospital-based acute care in the last 30 days of life for all chronic disease groups except dementia.


Author(s):  
Karl Sallin ◽  
Kathinka Evers ◽  
Håkan Jarbin ◽  
Lars Joelsson ◽  
Predrag Petrovic

AbstractDespite poor treatment results, a family-oriented approach and the securing of residency have been deemed essential to recovery from resignation syndrome (RS). In a retrospective cohort study, we evaluated an alternative method involving environmental therapy, with patients separated from their parents, while actively abstaining from involving the asylum process in treatment. We examined medical records, social services acts, and residential care home acts from 13 individuals treated at Solsidan residential care home between 2005 and 2020. Severity and outcome were assessed with Clinical Global Impression, Severity and Improvement subscales. Thirteen participants were included and out of these nine (69%) recovered, i.e. they very much or much improved. Out of the eight that were separated, all recovered, also, one non-separated recovered. The difference in outcome between subjects separated and not was significant (p = 0.007). Moreover, out of the five which received a residency permit during treatment, one recovered whereas four did not. The difference in outcome between subjects granted residency and not was significant (p = 0.007). The data revealed three (23%) cases of simulation where parents were suspected to have instigated symptoms. Our evaluation suggests that separation from parents and abstaining from invoking residency permit could be essential components when treating RS. Relying on a family-oriented approach, and residency could even be detrimental to recovery. The examined intervention was successful also in cases of probable malingering by proxy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (10) ◽  
pp. 1265-1271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liisa K. Rautakorpi ◽  
Johanna M. Mäkelä ◽  
Fatemeh Seyednasrollah ◽  
Anna M. Hammais ◽  
Tarja Laitinen ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Nyland ◽  
Nazia T. Raja-Khan ◽  
Kerstin Bettermann ◽  
Philippe A. Haouzi ◽  
Douglas L. Leslie ◽  
...  

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes possibly due to dysregulated inflammatory responses. Glucose-regulating medications such as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, and pioglitazone are known to have anti-inflammatory effects that may improve outcomes in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. In a multinational retrospective cohort study, we used the TriNetX COVID-19 Research Network of 56 large healthcare organizations to examine these medications in relation to the incidence of hospital admissions, respiratory complications, and mortality within 28 days following a COVID-19 diagnosis. After matching for age, sex, race, ethnicity, body mass index, and significant comorbidities, use of GLP-1R agonists and/or pioglitazone was associated with significant reductions in hospital admissions (GLP-1R: 15.7% vs 23.5%; RR, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.57-0.79]; <i>P</i> <.001; pioglitazone: 20.0% vs 28.2%; RR, 0.71 [95% CI, 0.54-0.93]; <i>P</i> =.01). Use of GLP-1R agonists was also associated with reductions in respiratory complications (15.3% vs 24.9%; RR, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.52-0.73]; <i>P</i> <.001) and incidence of mortality (1.9% vs 3.3%; RR, 0.58 [95% CI, 0.35-0.97]; <i>P</i> =.04). Use of DPP-4 inhibitors was associated with a reduction in respiratory complications (24.0% vs 29.2%; RR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.74-0.90]; <i>P</i> <.001), and continued use of DPP-4 inhibitors after hospitalization was associated with a decrease in mortality compared with those who discontinued use (9% vs 19%; RR, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.28-0.72]; <i>P</i> <.001). In conclusion, use of glucose-regulating medications such as GLP-1R agonists, DPP-4 inhibitors, or pioglitazone may improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients with T2DM; randomized clinical trials are needed to further investigate this possibility.


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