Exploring Audio Recording in Terminally Ill Patients Receiving Hospice Care: "Stories for Life Charity" Model.

Stories for Life is a UK charity that provides a free and confidential service for terminally ill patients to audio record their "life story." Patients are given a copy of the recording and, if they wish, can then pass a copy on to their family/friends. This study explored how a group of terminally ill patients, receiving hospice care, experienced the process of making a voice recording of their biographies. Interviews were conducted with 5 terminally ill patients and 1 family member. Study participants found that talking to a trained volunteer provided a neutral, nonjudgmental interviewer. Patients reported a feeling of catharsis while telling their story as well as being able to reflect on significant life events. However, it was challenging to convey difficult emotions while also being mindful of protecting family who may listen to the recording. Although there was some uncertainty about how the recording would be perceived by listeners, leaving a voice-recorded life account was felt to be beneficial for immediate family members, as well as maintaining a meaningful connection with future generations. Overall, recording an audio biography in terminal illness can allow patients a space for reflection and a meaningful connection with their families.

Outcomes following Placement and Removal of Transvaginal Cerclage in at Risk Pregnancies: A Single Center Experience.

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the time between removal of cerclage and delivery, stratified by indication for cerclage placement (elective or non-elective). Additionally, delivery within 72 hours after cerclage removal was compared between elective and non-elective cerclage placement, as well as between ultrasound-indicated and physical examination-indicated cerclage placement. Design: A single-center retrospective cohort study. Participants/Materials, Setting, and Methods. Clinical information of 72 pregnant women who underwent transvaginal cerclage over a 4-year period was obtained. Comparisons were made between elective (history-indicated) and non-elective (ultrasound or physical examination-indicated) cerclage placement. Comparisons were also made between physical examination-indicated and ultrasound-indicated cerclage. Results: Compared to those who had a non-elective cerclage, women undergoing elective cerclage were more likely to have history of cervical treatment (44% vs. 15%, p = 0.02), and spontaneous preterm delivery (92% vs. 61%, p = 0.003). There was no difference in the rate of delivery ≤72 hours following cerclage removal between women who had elective cerclage and those who had non-elective cerclage (46% vs. 58%, p = 0.47). Women who had an elective cerclage were more likely to have elective cerclage removal ≥36 weeks (71.8% vs. 39.4%, p = 0.01), compared to those who had undergone non-elective cerclage. The rate of delivery ≤72 hours following removal of cerclage was greater in women who had a physical examination-indicated cerclage compared to women who had ultrasound-indicated cerclage (80% vs. 39%, p = 0.04). Among women who had an elective cerclage, there was no difference in the rate of delivery at ≤72 hours between those who had elective cerclage removal at 36 weeks compared to those electively removed at 37 weeks (31% vs. 58%, p = 0.30). No complications such as fetal demise, iatrogenic amniotic membrane rupture, hemorrhage, or cervical laceration were reported within this cohort. Conclusion: Cerclage indication should be considered prior to scheduling elective cerclage removal. Women who had an elective cerclage are most likely to get it electively removed at 36 weeks compared to their counterparts who had a non-elective cerclage. Furthermore, women who had a physical examination-indicated cerclage are most likely to deliver within 72 hours of cerclage removal.

Responding to COVID-19 Among U.S. Military Units in South Korea: The U.S. Forces Korea's Operation Kill the Virus.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has led to one of the world's largest infectious disease outbreaks. COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019, and the emergence was especially concerning to the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) stationed in the Republic of Korea (ROK, South Korea), which remains vital to peace and security of the East Asian region. The first wave of cases emerged in South Korea from China before a globally established response, which forced USFK into a challenging position to combat a novel virus with countless unknowns regarding effective control and portended impact. MATERIALS AND METHODS: As cases began to emerge in South Korea, USFK in early February began to proactively formulate peninsula-wide preventative health measures to protect the force. Eventually, USFK spearheaded a uniquely proactive Operation Kill the Virus that targeted COVID-19 as an enemy that must be rigorously defended against. Through the operation, USFK systematically employed eight key principles to successfully combat the pandemic, which are documented in this article. RESULTS: The operation's eight principles focused on (1) Treat it like a combat operation, (2) Protect the force to protect the mission, (3) Stay one step ahead of the curve by exercising an abundance of caution, (4) Use predictive analysis, (5) Maintain open and transparent dialog with the community every day, (6) Be empathetic but prepare the community for lifestyle and culture changes, (7) Follow and enforce rules, and finally (8) Keep your foot on the gas and fight complacency. By closely collaborating with the ROK government, especially the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USFK effectively limited the number of locally acquired cases, including service members, families, and civilians, to 24 by April 2020. Vital to that success was ensuring a sufficient capability and capacity to test, trace, treat, and logistically support with personal protective equipment and sufficient infrastructure for quarantine and isolation. As the pandemic shifted to the USA and Europe, new cases in the ROK shifted from locally acquired to imported from international travelers. Fundamental to USFK's sustained preservation of readiness and training included aggressive quarantine and testing of all arrivals from the United States of America (USA), identification of hotspots in all installations, and perpetual fine-tuning of the operation's principles in collaboration with the ROK's aggressive approach to eradicate COVID-19 from the peninsula. CONCLUSIONS: In successfully executing the operation, USFK imparts three main lessons for future outbreaks. First, a military command should execute a health response similar to how it executes combat operations against a battlefield enemy. Second, the command should maintain flexibility to new changes or risks that alter courses of action. And finally, engagement with the local community, host nation, and international partners should not be compromised when formulating strategies. The USFK's immediate recognition of the public health threat by all levels of leadership and medical personnel enabled a unique and highly effective Operation Kill the Virus that engaged all members of the community, both local and international.

Spontaneous septostomy in a monochorionic-diamniotic twin gestation.

Monochorionic twin gestations are associated with a greater incidence of neonatal morbidity and mortality when compared with their dichorionic counterparts. In turn, monochorionic-monoamniotic (MCMA) gestations carry greater risks compared with monochorionic-diamniotic (MCDA) gestations. While the true incidence of spontaneous septostomy of the dividing membranes (SSDM) in MCDA twins is unknown, SSDM has been demonstrated to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality, due to functional transition from a MCDA gestation to a MCMA gestation. We report a case of SSDM in a mid-trimester MCDA gestation, review the literature, and describe how to identify and manage this complication.

The Interview for Decisional Abilities (IDA): a tool to assess the decisional capacity of abused and neglected older adults.

We present the Interview for Decisional Abilities (IDA), a semi-structured tool for use by adult protective services (APS) workers as part of their comprehensive assessments of clients. The IDA was created in response to a Federal mandate to standardize the procedures and competencies of APS agencies with a view to improving client assessments and facilitating cross-jurisdictional research on adult mistreatment. The proximal aim of the IDA is to guide workers in gathering information on the ability of suspected victims of adult mistreatment to make decisions about the risks they face.

Vascular depression and the death of Queen Victoria.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this article was to examine relationships between the neurological events that were the immediate cause of the death of Queen Victoria and the late-life depression that preceded it. METHODS/DESIGN: The authors closely reviewed the surviving medical notes of Queen Victoria's personal physician, Sir James Reid,Bt. recorded during the Queen's last 10 days of life. These notes were summarized in a chronological narrative and their implications considered in light of current concepts of vascular depression. RESULTS: The depression that Queen Victoria experienced over the 5 months prior to her death and during her final 10 days from 13 January 1901 until 22 January likely had a vascular etiology. CONCLUSIONS: Although conclusions from this study are necessarily speculative given the lack of neuroimaging and other diagnostic tools available in 1901, it emerged that Queen Victoria had experienced early-onset depression followed in later life by an acute depressive episode associated with vascular risk factors and personal losses, a sequence also encountered by today's geriatricians. In addition, etiological connections between the Queen's early-onset and late-life depressions appeared probable. Underlined for contemporary practitioners are the suffering experienced by patients with vascular depression at the end of their lives, as well as the struggles of physicians like Sir James Reid to provide clinical wisdom and emotional support.

The Abrams geriatric self-neglect scale: introduction, validation and psychometric properties.

OBJECTIVE: Self-neglect is an imprecisely defined entity with multiple clinical expressions and adverse health consequences, especially in the elderly. However, research has been limited by the absence of a measurement instrument that is both inclusive and specific. Our goal was to establish the psychometric properties of a quantitative instrument, the Abrams Geriatric Self-Neglect Scale (AGSS). METHODS: We analyzed data from a 2007 case-control study of 71 cognitively intact community-dwelling older self-neglectors that had used the AGSS. The AGSS was validated against two "gold standards": a categorical definition of self-neglect developed by expert consensus; and the clinical judgment of a geriatric psychiatrist using chart review. Frequencies were examined for the six scale domains by source (Subject, Observer, and Overall Impression). Internal consistency was estimated for each source, and associations among the sources were evaluated. RESULTS: Internal consistency estimates for the AGSS were rated as "good," with the Subject responses having the lowest alpha and omega (0.681 and 0.692) and the Observer responses the highest (0.758 and 0.765). Subject and Observer scores had the lowest association (0.578, p < 0.001). Using expert consensus criteria as the primary "gold standard," the Observer and Overall Impression subscales were "good" at classifying self-neglect, while the Subject subscale was "fair." CONCLUSIONS: The AGSS correctly classified and quantified self-neglect against two "gold standards." Sufficient correlations among multiple sources of information allow investigators and clinicians to choose flexibly from Subject, Observer, or Overall Impression. The lower internal consistency estimates for Subject responses are consistent with self-neglectors' propensity to disavow symptoms. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Abdication of King Edward VIII: a study of estrangement between an adult son and elderly mother.

In this article the Abdication of King Edward VIII of Great Britain and his estrangement from the dowager Queen Mary are reconsidered as prototypes of intergenerational conflict arising from a collision of values between an adult child and an elderly mother. Historical materials on the Abdication and other respected secondary sources, including biographies of key individuals, were consulted, and the limited sociological and clinical literature on estrangement between elderly parents and adult children was referenced. Although estrangement was perpetuated by the rigid and incompatible positions taken up by both the former king and his widowed mother, the elderly Queen Mary, it was the latter who suffered the greater emotional consequences of the permanent separation that followed the Abdication. Most accounts of the Abdication have put forward views of the conflict of values at its centre that emphasise the vulnerability of the elderly mother. The clinical narrative supports a characterisation of estrangement as a subtype of bereavement with particular relevance to the geriatric population.

A training program to enhance recognition of depression in nursing homes, assisted living, and other long-term care settings: Description and evaluation.

Low levels of symptom recognition by staff have been "gateway" barriers to the management of depression in long-term care. The study aims were to refine a depression training program for front-line staff in long-term care and provide evaluative knowledge outcome data. Three primary training modules provide an overview of depression symptoms; a review of causes and situational and environmental contributing factors; and communication strategies, medications, and clinical treatment strategies. McNemar's chi-square tests and paired t-tests were used to examine change in knowledge. Data were analyzed for up to 143 staff members, the majority from nursing. Significant changes (p < .001) in knowledge were observed for all modules, with an average change of between 2 and 3 points. Evidence was provided that participants acquired desired information in the recognition, detection, and differential diagnosis and treatment strategies for those persons at significant risk for a depressive disorder.

Narratives of Self-Neglect: Patterns of Traumatic Personal Experiences and Maladaptive Behaviors in Cognitively Intact Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: To identify patterns of personal experience or behavior in self-neglect by exploring narratives of cognitively intact older adults. DESIGN: Descriptive study involving semistructured interviews and unstructured narratives. SETTING: A parent study of self-neglect characteristics. PARTICIPANTS: Cognitively intact, self-neglecting older adults referred from 11 community-based senior services agencies (N = 69). MEASUREMENTS: Interviews included a comprehensive psychiatric assessment using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Axis-I and II Disorders and an unstructured interview that allowed subjects to describe important elements of their life stories. Content analysis was used to identify personal experiences and behavior patterns in each subject's narrative. RESULTS: Four types of traumatic personal experiences (psychologically traumatic loss, separation or abandonment (29%); violent victimization, physical trauma, or sexual abuse (19%); exposure to war or political violence (9%); prolonged mourning (7%)) and five behavior patterns (significant financial instability (23%), severe lifelong mental illness (16%), mistrust of people or paranoia (13%), distrust and avoidance of the medical establishment (13%), substance abuse or dependence (13%)) were identified in the life stories. CONCLUSION: Patterns of traumatic personal experiences and maladaptive behaviors that self-neglecters frequently report were identified. Experiences, perceptions, and behaviors developed over a lifetime may contribute to elder self-neglect. Further exploration and better understanding of these patterns may identify potential risk factors and areas for future targeted screening, intervention, and prevention.

Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go: a model of 'completion' for the end of life.

Kazuo Ishiguro's remarkable novel, Never Let Me Go, is a potent critique of societal and medical inhumanity. However, it can also read as a study of psychosocial development across the life span, featuring age-specific milestones and acceptance of death as the fixed point towards which humans advance through the stages of maturation. Emphasising a developmental perspective based on Eriksonian and Jaquesian theory, Ishiguro's storyline is followed closely and retold in this article. At each critical point in the novel, the differing styles of preparation for death are considered.

The Indirect Costs of Late-Life Depression in the United States: A Literature Review and Perspective.

Late-life depression is a leading cause of disability in older adults and is associated with significant economic burden. This article draws from the existing literature and publicly available databases to describe the relative importance of the indirect costs associated with late-life depression. The authors found that unpaid caregiver costs represent the largest component of the indirect costs of late-life depression, with the highest level of economic burden attributed to the majority of care recipients who have fewer depressive symptoms. Other indirect costs, such as productivity losses related to early retirement, reduced ability to fulfill work and family functions and diminished financial success were mostly under-appreciated in the literature. Also, mortality cost estimates provided little clarity, employing variable methodologies and revealing mixed results. With respect to late-life suicide studies, studies approximated both economic costs and savings. More rigorous efforts to evaluate the indirect costs of late-life depression would afford a better understanding of the social and economic toll of this disorder and could influence the allocation of resources for research and treatment.