Fluid Intake Recommendation Considering the Physiological Adaptations of Adults Over 65 Years: A Critical Review

The aim of this critical review was to clarify recommended fluid intake for older people. A literature search of published articles and guidelines on fluid intake recommendations until April 2020 was carried out using PUBMED, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar. In this review, we focused on people over 65 years old at di erent care levels. The results show that the mean fluid intake ranges between 311 and 2390 mL/day. However, it is di cult to know whether this corresponds to the real pattern of fluid intake, due to the variability of data collection methods. With respect to the recommendations, most international organizations do not take into consideration the physiology of ageing or the health problems associated with an older population. In conclusions, we recommend to follow the guideline of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). ESPEN is the only guideline which takes into account age. It is also based on EFSA recommendations. This authority takes into consideration all fluids consumed (ranging from food to fluids). If it is known that around 20% of all fluids consumed come from food, the result would e ectively be that the EFSA recommends the same as the ESPEN guidelines: 1.6 L/day for females and 2.0 L/day for males. The findings could help raise the awareness of professionals in the sector with respect to the required fluid intake of the elderly and, in this way, contribute to avoiding the consequences of dehydration

Diagnostic Concordance between the Visual Analogue Anxiety Scale (VAS-A) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in Nursing Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Anxiety is one of the most common problems among nursing students. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is used to detect anxiety in this population; however, its length hinders speedy detection. For this reason, a faster and more efficient instrument is needed for early detection. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the anxiety measurement scales State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety (VAS-A) by establishing a discrimination threshold through the contrast of true positive rates (VPR) and false positive rates (FPR). To this end, a cross-sectional quantitative observational and analytical study was carried out on 185 fourth-year nursing students. The data collected were anxiety (STAI and VAS-A) and socio-demographic variables during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed a correlation between the two scales (VAS-A and STAI). The VAS-A is a useful instrument for assessing students in a crisis that could potentially generate anxiety. The study established a reasonably safe error probability range (>5%), allowing the VAS-A scale to be used as a rapid diagnostic or pre-diagnostic tool, depending on the scores. The study shows that speedy detection of anxiety using the VAS-A and an in-depth approach with the STAI by teaching staff in crises is possible