Frailty Network in an Acute Care Setting: The New Perspective for Frail Older People

The incidence of elderly patients who come to the emergency room is progressively increasing. The specialization of the physician units might not be adequate for the evaluation of this complexity. The present study aimed to present a standard procedure, called ‘The Geriatric Frailty Network’, operating at the Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS Foundation, which is configured specifically for the level II assessment of frail elderly patients. This was a retrospective study in 1191 patients aged over 65, who were evaluated by the Geriatric Frailty Unit directly after emergency department admission for one year. All patients underwent multidimensional geriatric evaluation. Data were collected on demographics, co-morbidity, disease severity, and Clinical Frailty Scale. Among all patients, 723 were discharged directly from the emergency room with early identification of continuity of care path. Globally, 468 patients were hospitalized with an early assessment of frailty that facilitated the discharge process. The geriatric frailty network model aims to assist the emergency room and ward doctor in the prevention of the most common geriatric syndromes and reduce the number of incongruous hospitalization

The relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Frailty is common in seniors, and is characterized by diminished physiological reserves and increased vulnerability to stressors. Frailty can change the prognosis and treatment approach of several chronic diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The association between frailty and COPD has never been systematically reviewed

Predictors of rehospitalization among older adults: Results of the CRIME Study

AIM: To assess the predictors of readmission among older adults hospitalized in acute care wards. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was carried out among 921 hospitalized older adults participating in the CRiteria to Assess Appropriate Medication Use among Elderly Complex Patients (CRIME) project. The primary outcome of the study was rehospitalization within 1 year after discharge from acute care hospitals. We assessed the participants with a questionnaire including 350 items about demographic, social and clinical characteristics. We analyzed all factors at discharge that could be considered predictors of readmission. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 81.2 years (SD 7.4 years), and 509 were women (55.3%). Overall, 280 of 921 patients (30.4%) were rehospitalized during the 1-year follow up of the study. Patients with a Mini-Mental State Examination score equal to or higher than 24 had a higher probability of rehospitalization, as compared with those who performed lower than 24 (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.04-2.83). In addition, heart failure (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.14-2.24), the number of falls during 1-year follow up (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.05-1.28) and the number of drugs during first hospitalization (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01-1.07) were significantly associated with rehospitalization, whereas no significant association was shown for age, sex and walking speed for minimum size (OR 1.15, 95% CI 0.99-2.00). CONCLUSIONS: Predictors of readmission in older people are an intact cognitive status; the presence of a geriatric condition, such as heart failure and falls; and a high number of drugs during first hospitalization. Further studies are required to assess the impact of home care for avoiding readmission in patients with an intact cognitive status, and supporting and treating patients with dementia

Association of Polypharmacy With 1-Year Trajectories of Cognitive and Physical Function in Nursing Home Residents: Results From a Multicenter European Study

Objectives: To test the association between polypharmacy and 1-year change in physical and cognitive function among nursing home (NH) residents. Design: Longitudinal multicenter cohort study based on data from the Services and Health for Elderly in Long TERm care (SHELTER) study. Setting: NH in Europe (n = 50) and Israel (n = 7). Participants: 3234 NH older residents. Measurements: Participants were assessed through the interRAI long-term care facility instrument. Polypharmacy was defined as the concurrent use of 5 to 9 drugs and excessive polypharmacy as the use of 6510 drugs. Cognitive function was assessed through the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS). Functional status was evaluated through the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Hierarchy scale. The change in CPS and ADL score, based on repeated assessments, was the outcome, and their association with polypharmacy was modeled via linear mixed models. The interaction between polypharmacy and time was reported [beta and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs)]. Results: A total of 1630 (50%) residents presented with polypharmacy and 781 (24%) excessive polypharmacy. After adjusting for potential confounders, residents on polypharmacy (beta 0.10, 95% CI 0.01-0.20) and those on excessive polypharmacy (beta 0.13, 95% CI 0.01-0.24) had a significantly higher decline in CPS score compared to those using <5 drugs. No statistically (P >.05) significant change according to polypharmacy status was shown for ADL score. Conclusions: Polypharmacy is highly prevalent among older NH residents and, over 1 year, it is associated with worsening cognitive function but not functional decline

Interactions between drugs and geriatric syndromes in nursing home and home care: results from Shelter and IBenC projects.

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink belowDrugs may interact with geriatric syndromes by playing a role in the continuation, recurrence or worsening of these conditions. Aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of interactions between drugs and three common geriatric syndromes (delirium, falls and urinary incontinence) among older adults in nursing home and home care in Europe. We performed a cross-sectional multicenter study among 4023 nursing home residents participating in the Services and Health for Elderly in Long-TERm care (Shelter) project and 1469 home care patients participating in the Identifying best practices for care-dependent elderly by Benchmarking Costs and outcomes of community care (IBenC) project. Exposure to interactions between drugs and geriatric syndromes was assessed by 2015 Beers criteria. 790/4023 (19.6%) residents in the Shelter Project and 179/1469 (12.2%) home care patients in the IBenC Project presented with one or more drug interactions with geriatric syndromes. In the Shelter project, 288/373 (77.2%) residents experiencing a fall, 429/659 (65.1%) presenting with delirium and 180/2765 (6.5%) with urinary incontinence were on one or more interacting drugs. In the IBenC project, 78/172 (45.3%) participants experiencing a fall, 80/182 (44.0%) presenting with delirium and 36/504 (7.1%) with urinary incontinence were on one or more interacting drugs. Drug-geriatric syndromes interactions are common in long-term care patients. Future studies and interventions aimed at improving pharmacological prescription in the long-term care setting should assess not only drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, but also interactions involving geriatric syndromes.7th Framework Programme of the European Union Ministry of Health of the Czech Republi

Polypharmacy in Home Care in Europe: Cross-Sectional Data from the IBenC Study

Home care (HC) patients are characterized by a high level of complexity, which is reflected by the prevalence of multimorbidity and the correlated high drug consumption. This study assesses prevalence and factors associated with polypharmacy in a sample of HC patients in Europe.status: publishe

Polypharmacy in Home Care in Europe: Cross-Sectional Data from the IBenC Study

Background: Home care (HC) patients are characterized by a high level of complexity, which is reflected by the prevalence of multimorbidity and the correlated high drug consumption. This study assesses prevalence and factors associated with polypharmacy in a sample of HC patients in Europe. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis on 1873 HC patients from six European countries participating in the Identifying best practices for care-dependent elderly by Benchmarking Costs and outcomes of community care (IBenC) project. Data were collected using the interResident Assessment Instrument (interRAI) instrument for HC. Polypharmacy status was categorized into three groups: non-polypharmacy (0\ue2\u80\u934 drugs), polypharmacy (5\ue2\u80\u939 drugs), and excessive polypharmacy (\ue2\u89\ua5\uc2\ua010 drugs). Multinomial logistic regressions were used to identify variables associated with polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy. Results: Polypharmacy was observed in 730 (39.0%) HC patients and excessive polypharmacy in 433 (23.1%). As compared with non-polypharmacy, excessive polypharmacy was directly associated with chronic disease but also with female sex (odds ratio [OR] 1.58; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17\ue2\u80\u932.13), pain (OR 1.51; 95% CI 1.15\ue2\u80\u931.98), dyspnea (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.01\ue2\u80\u931.89), and falls (OR 1.55; 95% CI 1.01\ue2\u80\u932.40). An inverse association with excessive polypharmacy was shown for age (OR 0.69; 95% CI 0.56\ue2\u80\u930.83). Conclusions: Polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy are common among HC patients in Europe. Factors associated with polypharmacy status include not only co-morbidity but also specific symptoms and age

Deprescribing in Nursing Home Residents on Polypharmacy: Incidence and Associated Factors

Objectives: To assess 1-year incidence and factors related to deprescribing in nursing home (NH) residents in Europe. Design: Longitudinal multicenter cohort study based on data from the Services and Health for Elderly in Long TERm care (SHELTER) study. Setting: NHs in Europe and Israel. Participants: 1843 NH residents on polypharmacy. Methods: Polypharmacy was defined as the concurrent use of 5 or more medications. Deprescribing was defined as a reduction in the number of medications used over the study period. Residents were followed for 12 months. Results: Residents in the study sample were using a mean number of 8.6 (standard deviation 2.9) medications at the baseline assessment. Deprescribing was observed in 658 residents (35.7%). Cognitive impairment (mild/moderate impairment vs intact, odds ratio [OR] 1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-1.79; severe impairment vs intact, OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.23-2.09), presence of the geriatrician within the facility staff (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.15-1.72), and number of medications used at baseline (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.06-1.14) were associated with higher probabilities of deprescribing. In contrast, female gender (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.61-0.96), heart failure (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.53-0.89), and cancer (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.45-0.90) were associated with a lower probability of deprescribing. Conclusions and Implications: Deprescribing is common in NH residents on polypharmacy, and it is associated with individual and organizational factors. More evidence is needed on deprescribing, and clear strategies on how to withdraw medications should be defined in the future