scholarly journals Delirium as a marker of vulnerability in the elderly

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Bellelli ◽  
Paolo Mazzola ◽  
Alessandro Morandi

Delirium is the clinical expression of an acute cerebral dysfunction caused by various noxious insults. Its prevalence is very high in the elderly, especially in the hospital setting, and in geriatric patients it can be the clinical manifestation of almost every acute disease. Delirium is associated to a number of adverse clinical and functional outcomes, to a higher risk of cognitive decline, institutionalization, and short- and long-term mortality. It is thus necessary to increase the attention on this issue: in fact, it is clearly demonstrated that delirium can be prevented in a large proportion of cases. Delirium is not only a marker of patient vulnerability and clinical instability, but also an index of the quality of care and the efficiency of its organization. By systematically assessing the presence of delirium during the whole length of hospital stay, physicians may closely monitor the patient’s clinical status. The aims of this review are to review the current clinical practice in delirium, focusing particularly on elderly individuals. The topics covered include epidemiology and outcomes, causes, clinical features and diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Finally, implications for clinical practice are discussed.

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Broderick ◽  
R. Bruce-Brand ◽  
E. Stanley ◽  
K. J. Mulhall

Osteoporotic hip fractures are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Furthermore, reduced implant anchorage in osteoporotic bone predisposes towards fixation failure and with an ageing population, even low failure rates represent a significant challenge to healthcare systems. Fixation failure in fragility fractures of the hip ranges from 5% in peritrochanteric fractures through to 15% and 41% in undisplaced and displaced fractures of the femoral neck, respectively. Our findings, in general, support the view that failed internal fixation of these fragility fractures carries a poor prognosis: it leads to a twofold increase in the length of hospital stay and a doubling of healthcare costs. Patients are more likely to suffer a downgrade in their residential status upon discharge with a consequent increase in social dependency. Furthermore, the marked disability and reduction in quality of life evident before salvage procedures may persist at long-term followup. The risk, of course, for the elderly patient with a prolonged period of decreased functioning is that the disability becomes permanent. Despite this, however, no clear link between revision surgery and an increase in mortality has been demonstrated in the literature.


2015 ◽  
Vol 125 (10) ◽  
pp. 2323-2329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine G. Gourin ◽  
Heather M. Starmer ◽  
Robert J. Herbert ◽  
Kevin D. Frick ◽  
Arlene A. Forastiere ◽  
...  

Head & Neck ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 3542-3550
Author(s):  
Christine G. Gourin ◽  
Robert J. Herbert ◽  
Harry Quon ◽  
Carole Fakhry ◽  
Ana P. Kiess ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-374
Author(s):  
Olga Churuksaeva ◽  
Larisa Kolomiets

Due to improvements in short- and long-term clinical outcomes a study of quality of life is one of the most promising trends in oncology today. This review analyzes the published literature on problems dealing with quality of life of patients with gynecological cancer. Data on quality of life with respect to the extent of anticancer treatment as well as psychological and social aspects are presented. The relationship between quality of life and survival has been estimated.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1472-1479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Anderson ◽  
Stig Attvall ◽  
Lennart Sternemalm ◽  
Aldina Pivodic ◽  
Martin Fahlén ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 889-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanghamitra Mohanty ◽  
Luigi Di Biase ◽  
Rong Bai ◽  
Pasquale Santangeli ◽  
Agnes Pump ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHANIE FICHTNER ◽  
ISABEL DEISENHOFER ◽  
SIBYLLE KINDSMÜLLER ◽  
MARIJANA DZIJAN-HORN ◽  
STYLIANOS TZEIS ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwan El Ghoch ◽  
Simona Calugi ◽  
Riccardo Dalle Grave

Over the last decade, a new condition, which occurs in the presence of both sarcopenia and obesity, has been termed “sarcopenic obesity”. The term describes the coexistence of obesity, defined as the increase in body fat mass deposition, and sarcopenia, defined as the reduction in lean mass and muscle strength. However, many uncertainties still surround the condition of sarcopenic obesity in terms of its definition, the adverse short- and long-term health effects (i.e., medical disease, psychosocial functioning, quality of life and mortality) and its clinical management. The aim of this short communication is to emphasize some crucial aspects that future research should take into account in order to avoid bias and misinterpretations and to underline that the study of sarcopenic obesity should be considered a scientific and clinical priority, as reported by the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO).


Author(s):  
Antoni Castelló ◽  
Ramon Cladellas

Adolescence is a period where youngsters still do not know much about themselves. That makes some decisions, like those concerning vocational elections, a complicated issue that has important consequences for their life. The main goal of this piece of research is to measure implicit interests using a situated, unobtrusive computer tool (PrUnAs: Preferences Unobtrusive Assessment) as well as its connection with anxiety and personality traits: neuroticism, extraversion, self-efficacy, optimism, consciousness, and openness. Sample: 304 16-year-old adolescents enrolled in the last course of compulsory education. Instruments: Computer programs were used to measure implicit interests, career preferences, and to self-descript personality traits; finally, the paper-and-pencil test Stai was applied to measure anxiety. Results: Concordance between implicit interests and explicit choices was less than 50%. The software developed for assessing implicit interests not only proved to be an efficient tool to make them arise but also a good predictor of anxiety. Conclusions: Implicit interests and explicit elections are not the same. The approach from implicit preferences is an important shift in the approximation to vocational guiding and to reduce youngsters’ indecision level. Beyond vocational choice, this information may improve the short- and long-term quality of life and mental health.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-13
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Kamińska ◽  
Joanna Golec ◽  
Dorota Czechowska

Introduction: The aim of presented study was to evaluate selected quality of life indicators for women treated surgically due to intertrochanteric femur fractures in terms of implementation of physiotherapeutic and nursing standards. Clinical Hospital in Krakow (5WSK) within the period from January 2015 to December 2016. At that time, 145 women with intertrochanteric femur fracture were admitted to the hospital. The age of the patients ranged between 58 and 92 years, with an average of 83.6 years. The following questionnaires and score scales were used to assess the quality of life: Short Pfeiffer Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale, SF-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire, Barthel scale, HOOS scale, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) by Yesavage, the author’s questionnaire on rehabilitation care problems related to urinary tract infections, bed sores, pneumonia, gastrointestinal disorders, gastrointestinal infections and thromboembolic complications as well as survival rate. Results and conclusions: 1. The quality of life of women operated because of intertrochanteric femoral fractures using an intramedullary Gamma nail had deteriorated in both short and long-term observation. 2. Maintenance and individualization of nursing standards and rehabilitation in women treated surgically due to intertrochanteric femoral fractures had a positive effect on the overall process of their treatment. 3.The level of physical activity declared by women operated due to intertrochanteric femur fracture prior to the occurrence of these fractures, has a signifi cant effect on their functional results in short and long-term observation. The higher the level of physical activity of these patients before the fracture, the more favourable was the functional outcome. 4. The level of mood and self-acceptance of the disease in women treated surgically for this fracture had signifi cant impact on the process of their nursing as well as rehabilitation, and on functional status in short and long-term follow-up. The higher the level of mood and self-acceptance of the disease in these women, the better the process of their nursing, rehabilitation and the functional outcome.


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