Diagnostic accuracy of the Dutch version of the 4AT for delirium detection in a mixed patient population and setting.

BACKGROUND: Delirium is an acute disturbance in attention, awareness and cognition. Immediate detection in older adults is recommended because delirium is associated with adverse outcomes. The 4 'A's Test (4AT) is a short screening instrument for delirium. The aim of this study is to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of the Dutch version of the screening tool 4AT for delirium detection in different settings. METHODS: Prospective observational study conducted in two hospitals in patients aged ≥ 65 years in geriatric wards and the Emergency Department (ED). Each participant underwent two assessments; the index test 4AT, followed by the reference standard for delirium performed by a geriatric care specialist. The reference standard delirium is according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) criteria. RESULTS: A total of 71 geriatric inpatients and 49 older ED patients were included. The prevalence of delirium was 11.6% in the acute geriatric ward and 6.1% in the ED. The sensitivity and specificity of the 4AT in the acute geriatric ward were 0.88 and 0.69, respectively. In the ED, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.67 and 0.83, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.80 for the acute geriatric ward setting and 0.74 for the ED setting. CONCLUSION: The Dutch version of the 4AT is a reliable screening tool for delirium detection in both acute geriatric wards and ED. Due to its brevity and practicality (i.e., no special training is required to administer the tool), it is useful in clinical practice.

Screening instruments for cognitive impairment in older patients in the Emergency Department: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: cognitive impairment is highly prevalent among older patients attending the Emergency Department (ED) and is associated with adverse outcomes. METHODS: we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of cognitive screening instruments to rule out cognitive impairment in older patients in the ED. A comprehensive literature search was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and CENTRAL. A risk of bias assessment using QUADAS-2 was performed. RESULTS: 23 articles, examining 18 different index tests were included. Only seven index tests could be included in the meta-analysis. For ruling out cognitive impairment irrespective of aetiology, Ottawa 3 Day Year (O3DY) (pooled sensitivity 0.90; (95% CI) 0.71-0.97) had the highest sensitivity. Fourteen articles focused on screening for cognitive impairment specifically caused by delirium. For ruling out delirium, the 4 A's Test (4AT) showed highest sensitivity (pooled sensitivity 0.87, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.74-0.94). CONCLUSIONS: high clinical and methodological heterogeneity was found between included studies. Therefore, it is a challenge to recommend one diagnostic test for use as a screening instrument for cognitive impairment in the ED. The 4AT and O3DY seem most promising for ruling out cognitive impairment in older patients attending the ED.The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42018082509).

Clinical impression for identification of vulnerable older patients in the emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the clinical impression of vulnerability and the Dutch Safety Management Program (VMS), a screening instrument on four geriatric domains (activities in daily living, falls, malnutrition, delirium) are useful predictors of 1-year mortality in older patients in the emergency department. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study in the emergency department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Patients aged 65 years and older visiting the emergency department, and their attending physicians and nurses were included. Clinical impression of vulnerability appraised by physician and nurse and the VMS-screening were recorded. RESULTS: We included 196 patients of whom 64.8%, 61.7%, and 52.6% were considered vulnerable based on the clinical impression of vulnerability of physicians, nurses, and VMS-screening, respectively. Agreement between clinical impression of vulnerability of physicians and nurses, and VMS-screening were both fair (overall agreement 63.3% for both, and respectively kappa 0.32 and kappa 0.31). Clinical impression of vulnerability of physicians, nurses, and VMS-screening had a sensitivity of respectively 94%, 86%, and 73% for predicting 1-year mortality. A positive clinical impression of vulnerability was associated mostly with factors which can be observed directly during first patient contact after arrival to the emergency department, such as age, nutritional status, and functional impairment. CONCLUSION: The clinical impression of vulnerability is a simple dichotomous question which can be used as a first step in the identification of vulnerable older emergency department patients, whereas the more time-consuming VMS-screening is more specific for detection of vulnerability. The clinical impression of vulnerability is therefore useful in a busy emergency department environment where time and resources are limited.

Hospital at Home care for older patients with cognitive impairment: a protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility trial.

INTRODUCTION: An acute hospital admission is a stressful life event for older people, particularly for those with cognitive impairment. The hospitalisation is often complicated by hospital-associated geriatric syndromes, including delirium and functional loss, leading to functional decline and nursing home admission. Hospital at Home care aims to avoid hospitalisation-associated adverse outcomes in older patients with cognitive impairment by providing hospital care in the patient's own environment. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This randomised, non-blinded feasibility trial aims to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial in terms of the recruitment, use and acceptability of Hospital at Home care for older patients with cognitive impairment. The quality of care will be evaluated and the advantages and disadvantages of the Hospital at Home care programme compared with usual hospital care. Eligible patients will be randomised either to Hospital at Home care in their own environment or usual hospital care. The intervention consists of hospital level care provided at patients' homes, including visits from healthcare professionals, diagnostics (laboratory tests, blood cultures) and treatment. The control group will receive usual hospital care. Measurements will be conducted at baseline, during admission, at discharge and at 3 and 6 months after the baseline assessment. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Institutional ethics approval has been granted. The findings will be disseminated through public lectures, professional and scientific conferences, as well as peer-reviewed journal articles. The study findings will contribute to knowledge on the implementation of Hospital at Home care for older patients with cognitive disorders. The results will be used to inform and support strategies to deliver eligible care to older patients with cognitive impairment. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: e020313; Pre-results.

Risk of Bleeding and Thrombosis in Patients 70 Years or Older Using Vitamin K Antagonists.

IMPORTANCE: Previous studies have shown that, despite the higher risk of bleeding, the elderly still benefit from taking anticoagulants if they have a stringent indication. However, owing to the relatively low number of patients older than 90 years in these studies, it is unknown whether this benefit is also seen with the eldest patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine how the risk of bleeding and thrombosis is associated with age in patients older than 70 years who were treated with a vitamin K antagonist (VKA). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A matched cohort study was conducted of patients at a thrombosis service who were treated with a VKA between January 21, 2009, and June 30, 2012. All 1109 patients 90 years or older who were treated with a VKA were randomly matched 1:1:1 with 1100 patients aged 80 to 89 years and 1104 patients aged 70 to 79 years based on duration of VKA treatment. Data analysis was conducted from April 2015 to April 2016. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was a composite of clinically relevant nonmajor and major bleeding. Secondary outcomes included thromboses and quality of VKA control. RESULTS: During 6419 observation-years, 713 of the 3313 patients (1394 men and 1919 women) had 1050 bleeding events. The risk of bleeding was not significantly increased in patients aged 80 to 89 years (event rate per 100 patient-years [ER], 16.7; hazard ratio [HR], 1.07; 95% CI, 0.89-1.27) and mildly increased in patients 90 years or older (ER, 18.1; HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.05-1.50) compared with patients aged 70 to 79 years (ER, 14.8). The point estimates for major bleeding (including fatal) were comparable for patients aged 80 to 89 years (ER, 1.0; HR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.60-1.98) and those 90 years or older (ER, 1.1; HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.65-2.22) compared with those aged 70 to 79 years (ER, 0.9). The increase in bleeding risk was sharper in men than in women. Eighty-five patients (2.6%) developed a thrombotic event. Risk of thrombosis was higher for patients in their 90s (HR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.22-3.75) and 80s (HR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.002-3.05) than for patients in their 70s. Vitamin K antagonist control became significantly poorer with rising age, which partly explained the increased bleeding risk in patients 90 years or older, but most of the increased risk of thrombosis was not mediated by VKA control. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These clinical practice data of patients considered eligible for anticoagulation show that the bleeding risk with a VKA only mildly increases after the age of 80 years, while there is a sharp increase in the risk of thrombosis in the same age group.