What matters most in acute care: an interview study with older people living with frailty.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare outcome goals are central to person-centred acute care, however evidence among older people is scarce. Older people who are living with frailty have distinct requirements for healthcare delivery and have distinct risk for adverse outcomes from healthcare. There is insufficient evidence for whether those living with frailty also have distinct healthcare outcome goals. This study explored the nature of acute care outcome goals in people living with frailty. METHODS: Healthcare outcome goals were explored using semi-structured patient interviews. Participants aged over 65 with Clinical Frailty Score 5-8 (mild to very severe frailty) were recruited during their first 72 hours in a UK hospital. Purposive, maximum variation sampling was guided by lay partners from a Patient and Public Involvement Forum specialising in ageing-related research. Qualitative analysis used a blended approach based on framework and constant comparative methodologies for the identification of themes. Findings were validated through triangulation with participant, lay partner, and technical expert review. RESULTS: The 22 participants were aged 71 to 98 and had mild to very severe frailty. One quarter were living with dementia. Most participants had reflected on their situation and considered their outcome goals. Theme categories (and corresponding sub-categories) were 'Autonomy' (information, control, and security) and 'Functioning' (physical, psychosocial, and relief). A novel 'security' theme was identified, whereby participants sought to feel safe in their usual living place and with their health problems. Those living with milder frailty were concerned to maintain ability to support loved ones, while those living with most severe frailty were concerned about burdening others. CONCLUSIONS: Outcome goals for acute care among older participants living with frailty were influenced by the insecurity of their situation and fear of deterioration. Patients may be supported to feel safe and in control through appropriate information provision and functional support.

Improving outcomes for older people in the emergency department: a review of reviews.

BACKGROUND: There has been a recognised trend of increasing use of emergency and urgent care and emergency departments (EDs) by older people, which is marked by a substantial evidence base reporting interventions for this population and guidance from key organisations. Despite this, outcomes for this population remain suboptimal. A plethora of reviews in this area provides challenges for clinicians and commissioners in determining which interventions and models of care best meet people's needs. The aim of this review was to identify effective ED interventions which have been reported for older people, and to provide a clear summary of the myriad reviews and numerous intervention types in this area. METHODS: A review of reviews, reporting interventions for older people, either initiated or wholly delivered within the ED. RESULTS: A total of 15 review articles describing 83 primary studies met our content and reporting standards criteria. The majority (n=13) were systematic reviews (four using meta-analysis.) Across the reviews, 26 different outcomes were reported with inconsistency. Follow-up duration varied within and across the reviews. Based on how authors had reported results, evidence clusters were developed: (1) staff-focused reviews, (2) discharge intervention reviews, (3) population-focused reviews and (4) intervention component reviews. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence base describing interventions is weak due to inconsistent reporting, differing emphasis placed on the key characteristics of primary studies (staff, location and outcome) by review authors and varying quality of reviews. No individual interventions have been found to be more promising, but interventions initiated in the ED and continued into other settings have tended to result in more favourable patient and health service outcomes. Despite many interventions reported within the reviews being holistic and patient focused, outcomes measured were largely service focused. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42018111461.

Emergency department management of older people living with frailty: a guide for emergency practitioners.

Emergency Departments (EDs) are increasingly seeing more seriously unwell older people living with frailty. In the context of limited resources and increasing demand it's the ED practitioner's challenge to unpick this constellation of physical, psychological, functional and social issues.To properly assess older people living with frailty at the ED it is crucial to use an holistic approach. This consists of triage with algorithms sensitive to the higher risk of older people living with frailty, a frailty assessment, and an assessment with the help of the principles of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment. Multi-disciplinary care, a tailor-made treatment plan, based on what the person values most, will help the ED practitioner to deliver appropriate and valuable care during the ED stay, but also in transition from hospital to home.

What older people want from emergency care: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the expectations and preferred outcomes from emergency care among older people or their caregivers. METHODS: A review protocol was registered. Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsychInfo, BNI, AgeInfo and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched in their full date ranges to September 2018. Included articles were hand-searched for further citations. Citations were screened for (1) older people aged over 65 years, (2) ED settings and (3) reporting expectations or preferred outcomes for emergency care (as opposed to experience or satisfaction). Quality appraisal and data extraction of eligible articles were undertaken by two reviewers. Themes were synthesised through content analysis and described narratively. RESULTS: Older people wished to have prompt waiting times, efficient care, clear communication and comfortable environments. They had additional and unique expectations for holistic care and support in decision-making. The ED provoked a sense of vulnerability among older people who were likely to have had frailty. CONCLUSION: The lack of dominant themes among included studies suggests that older people should be treated as individuals rather than a homogenous group. Establishing individuals' preferred outcomes could improve person-centred care. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018107050.

Urgent care axis for the older adult: where is best to target interventions?

BACKGROUND: We explored the urgent care axis across EDs in Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) for patients aged ≥75 years to identify where interventions could be targeted to prevent ED attendances and inpatient admissions. METHODS: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data for attendances across 18 EDs in Y&H from April 2011 to March 2014 were retrospectively analysed. HES A&E and Admitted Patient Care patient records data were linked to describe the entire patient pathway. The population studied was adult patients attending type 1 EDs, comparing those ≥75 years with those under 75. Data analysed included arrival mode, presentation time, time in ED, outcome (admitted/discharged), admission length of stay, International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) and cause codes related to admission. Short-stay admissions and admissions with potentially avoidable conditions (identified by ICD-10 codes and cause codes) were identified. Comparative analysis was undertaken between sites. RESULTS: There were 3 736 541 ED attendances, of which 625 772 (16.7%) were ≥75 years. Older patients were significantly more likely to attend via ambulance than the younger cohort (OR 7.7, 95% CI 7.6 to 7.7), and had significantly longer median stays within ED (195 vs 136 min, p<0.001) and increased likelihood of admission (OR 4.5, 95% CI 4.5 to 4.6). Short-stay admissions accounted for 28.3% of older adult admissions. 37.3% of older adult admissions were with conditions that were potentially avoidable, accounting for 42.3% of short-stay admissions. There was regional variation in the proportions of older adults admitted (between 34.3% and 40.9%). DISCUSSION: Large numbers of older adults present to EDs mainly by ambulance. Significant proportions are admitted for short periods with conditions that might potentially be managed outside of hospital. Variation across the region warrants further study.

Hypertension treatment for older people-navigating between Scylla and Charybdis.

Hypertension is a common condition in older people, but is often one of many conditions, particularly in frail older people, and so is rarely managed in isolation in the real world-which belies the bulk of the evidence upon which is treatment decisions are often based. In this article, we discuss the issues of ageing, including frailty and dementia, and their impact upon blood pressure management. We examine the evidence base for managing hypertension in older people, and explore some therapeutic ideas that might influence treatment decisions and strategies, including shared decision making.

Frailty identification in the emergency department-a systematic review focussing on feasibility.

Introduction: risk-stratifying older people accessing urgent care is a potentially useful first step to ensuring that the most vulnerable are able to access optimal care from the start of the episode. While there are many risk-stratification tools reported in the literature, few have addressed the practical issues of implementation. This review sought evidence about the feasibility of risk stratification for older people with urgent care needs. Methods: medline was searched for papers addressing risk stratification and implementation (feasibility or evaluation or clinician acceptability). All search stages were conducted by two reviewers, and selected papers were graded for quality using the CASP tool for cohort studies. Data were summarised using descriptive statistics only. Results: about 1872 titles of potential interest were identified, of which 1827 were excluded on title/abstract review, and a further 43 after full-text review, leaving four papers for analysis. These papers described nine tools, which took between 1 and 10 minutes to complete for most participants. No more than 52% of potentially eligible older people were actually screened using any of the tools. Little detail was reported on the clinical acceptability of the tools tested. Discussion: the existing literature indicates that commonly used risk-stratification tools are relatively quick to use, but do not cover much more than 50% of the potential population eligible for screening in practice. Additional work is required to appreciate how tools are likely to be used, by whom, and when in order to ensure that they are acceptable to urgent care teams.

Identifying frailty in the Emergency Department-feasibility study.

Introduction: identifying the most at risk older people in Emergency Departments (EDs) may help guide clinical practice, and service improvement in emergency care, but little is known about how to implement such tools in practice. Methods: consensus building was used to determine the desirable characteristics of a risk stratification process, including focus groups and literature reviewing. Candidate tools were tested using clinical vignettes in semi-structured interviews with a range of clinicians working in one large ED, assessing speed of use, ease of use and agreement with clinical judgement. The primary outcome was the likelihood of future use of a given frailty tool. Results: the ideal tool characteristics included brevity (<1 min), simplicity and multidimensionality; tools selected for testing included the Identification of Seniors At Risk, Clinical Frailty Scale, PRISMA-7 and Silver Code. One hundred and twenty-one staff members (43% of the total ED workforce) were recruited from one large ED in the East Midlands. Two hundred and thirty-six individual frailty tool assessments were undertaken using 1 of 10 clinical vignettes; 75% of staff stated that they would use at least one of the tools again, with no significant differences between the individual tools. The median time to complete the tool was around 1 min per patient for all four tools. There were no significant differences in timing, ease of use or agreement with clinical judgement between tools. Discussion: validated risk stratification tools are quick, simple, easy to use and 75% of staff would use the tools again in the future.

Factors related to medical students' and doctors' attitudes towards older patients: a systematic review.

Background: studies have sought to identify the possible determinants of medical students' and doctors' attitudes towards older patients by examining relationships with a variety of factors: demographic, educational/training, exposure to older people, personality/cognitive and job/career factors. This review collates and synthesises these findings. Methods: an electronic search of 10 databases was performed (ABI/Inform, ASSIA, British Nursing Index, CINAHL, Informa Health, Medline, PsycINFO, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science) through to 7 February 2017. Results: the main search identified 2,332 articles; 37 studies met the eligibility criteria set. All included studies analysed self-reported attitudes based on correlational analyses or difference testing, therefore causation could not be determined. However, self-reported positive attitudes towards older patients were related to: (i) intrinsic motivation for studying medicine, (ii) increased preference for working with older patients and (iii) good previous relationships with older people. Additionally, more positive attitudes were also reported in those with higher knowledge scores but these may relate to the use of a knowledge assessment which is an indirect measure of attitudes (i.e. Palmore's Facts on Aging Quizzes). Four out of the five high quality studies included in this review reported more positive attitudes in females compared to males. Conclusion: this article identifies factors associated with medical students' and doctors' positive attitudes towards older patients. Future research could bring greater clarity to the relationship between knowledge and attitudes by using a knowledge measure which is distinct from attitudes and also measures knowledge that is relevant to clinical care.

New horizons in the implementation and research of comprehensive geriatric assessment: knowing, doing and the 'know-do' gap.

In this paper, we outline the relationship between the need to put existing applied health research knowledge into practice (the 'know-do gap') and the need to improve the evidence base (the 'know gap') with respect to the healthcare process used for older people with frailty known as comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). We explore the reasons for the know-do gap and the principles of how these barriers to implementation might be overcome. We explore how these principles should affect the conduct of applied health research to close the know gap. We propose that impaired flow of knowledge is an important contributory factor in the failure to implement evidence-based practice in CGA; this could be addressed through specific knowledge mobilisation techniques. We describe that implementation failures are also produced by an inadequate evidence base that requires the co-production of research, addressing not only effectiveness but also the feasibility and acceptability of new services, the educational needs of practitioners, the organisational requirements of services, and the contribution made by policy. Only by tackling these issues in concert and appropriate proportion, will the know and know-do gaps for CGA be closed.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in older people with dementia: a systematic review of tolerability.

BACKGROUND: ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) may be helpful for the management of hypertension, but little is known about its tolerability in people with dementia. OBJECTIVE: to review the published evidence to determine the tolerability of ABPM in people with dementia. METHODS: English language search conducted in MEDLINE and EMBASE, using 'Ambulatory blood pressure' AND 'Dementia' (and associated synonyms) from 1996 to March 2015. INCLUSION CRITERIA: people diagnosed with dementia AND in whom blood pressure was measured using ABPM. The initial search was undertaken using title and abstract reviews, with selected papers being agreed for inclusion by two reviewers. Potentially eligible papers were assessed, and high-quality papers were retained. Two reviewers agreed the abstracted data for analysis. Meta-analysis was used to combine results across studies. RESULTS: of the 221 screened abstracts, 13 studies (6%) met inclusion criteria, 5 had sufficient data and were of sufficient quality, involving 461 participants, most of whom had mild-moderate dementia. 77.7% (95% CI 62.2-93.2%) were able to tolerate ABPM; agreement with office BP was moderate to weak (two studies only-coefficients 0.3-0.38 for systolic blood pressure and 0.11-0.32 for diastolic blood pressure). One study compared home BP monitoring by a relative or ambulatory BP monitoring with office BP measures and found high agreement (κ 0.81). The little available evidence suggested increased levels of dementia being associated with reduced tolerability. CONCLUSIONS: ABPM is well tolerated in people with mild-moderate dementia and provides some additional information over and above office BP alone. However, few studies have addressed ABPM in people with more severe dementia.

New horizons: the management of hypertension in people with dementia.

The optimal management of hypertension in people with dementia is uncertain. This review explores if people with dementia experience greater adverse effects from antihypertensive medications, if cognitive function is protected or worsened by controlling blood pressure (BP) and if there are subgroups of people with dementia for whom antihypertensive therapy is more likely to be harmful. Robust evidence is scant, trials of antihypertensive medications have generally excluded those with dementia. Observational data show changes in risk association over the life course, with high BP being a risk factor for cognitive decline in mid-life, while low BP is predictive in later life. It is therefore possible that excessive BP lowering in older people with dementia might harm cognition. From the existing literature, there is no direct evidence of benefit or harm from treating hypertension in people with dementia. So what practical steps can the clinician take? Assess capacity, establish patient preferences when making treatment decisions, use ambulatory monitoring to thoroughly assess BP, individualise and consider deprescribing where side effects (e.g. hypotension) outweigh the benefits. Future research might include pragmatic randomised trials of targeted deprescribing, which include patient-centred outcome measures to help support decision-making and studies to address mechanistic uncertainties.

A controlled evaluation of comprehensive geriatric assessment in the emergency department: the 'Emergency Frailty Unit'.

BACKGROUND: the ageing demographic means that increasing numbers of older people will be attending emergency departments (EDs). Little previous research has focused on the needs of older people in ED and there have been no evaluations of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) embedded within the ED setting. METHODS: a pre-post cohort study of the impact of embedding CGA within a large ED in the East Midlands, UK. The primary outcome was admission avoidance from the ED, with readmissions, length of stay and bed-day use as secondary outcomes. RESULTS: attendances to ED increased in older people over the study period, whereas the ED conversion rate fell from 69.6 to 61.2% in people aged 85+, and readmission rates in this group fell from 26.0% at 90 days to 19.9%. In-patient bed-day use increased slightly, as did the mean length of stay. DISCUSSION: it is possible to embed CGA within EDs, which is associated with improvements in operational outcomes.

The predictive properties of frailty-rating scales in the acute medical unit.

BACKGROUND: older people are at an increased risk of adverse outcomes following attendance at acute hospitals. Screening tools may help identify those most at risk. The objective of this study was to compare the predictive properties of five frailty-rating scales. METHOD: this was a secondary analysis of a cohort study involving participants aged 70 years and above attending two acute medical units in the East Midlands, UK. Participants were classified at baseline as frail or non-frail using five different frailty-rating scales. The ability of each scale to predict outcomes at 90 days (mortality, readmissions, institutionalisation, functional decline and a composite adverse outcome) was assessed using area under a receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: six hundred and sixty-seven participants were studied. Frail participants according to all scales were associated with a significant increased risk of mortality [relative risk (RR) range 1.6-3.1], readmission (RR range 1.1-1.6), functional decline (RR range 1.2-2.1) and the composite adverse outcome (RR range 1.2-1.6). However, the predictive properties of the frailty-rating scales were poor, at best, for all outcomes assessed (AUC ranging from 0.44 to 0.69). CONCLUSION: frailty-rating scales alone are of limited use in risk stratifying older people being discharged from acute medical units.

A systematic review and recommendations for prom instruments for older people with frailty in emergency care.

INTRODUCTION: The current service metrics used to evaluate quality in emergency care do not account for specific healthcare outcome goals for older people living with frailty. These have previously been classified under themes of 'Autonomy' and 'Functioning'. There is no person-reported outcome measure (PROM) for older people with frailty and emergency care needs. This study aimed to identify and co-produce recommendations for instruments potentially suitable for use in this population. METHODS: In this systematic review, we searched six databases for PROMs used between 2010 and 2021 by older people living with frailty receiving acute hospital care. Studies were reviewed against predefined eligibility criteria and appraised for quality using the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist. Data were extracted to map instrument constructs against an existing framework of acute healthcare outcome goals. Instrument face and content validity were assessed by lay collaborators. Recommendations for instruments with potential emergency care suitability were formed through co-production. RESULTS: Of 9392 unique citations screened, we appraised the full texts of 158 studies. Nine studies were identified, evaluating nine PROMs. Quality of included studies ranged from 'doubtful' to 'very good'. Most instruments had strong evidence for measurement properties. PROMs mainly assessed 'Functioning' constructs, with limited coverage of 'Autonomy'. Five instruments were considered too burdensome for the emergency care setting or too specific for older people living with frailty. CONCLUSIONS: Four PROMs were recommended as potentially suitable for further validation with older people with frailty and emergency care needs: COOP/WONCA charts, EuroQol, McGill Quality of Life (Expanded), and Palliative care Outcome Scale.

A systematic review of comprehensive geriatric assessment to improve outcomes for frail older people being rapidly discharged from acute hospital: 'interface geriatrics'.

BACKGROUND: many frail older people who attend acute hospital settings and who are discharged home within short periods (up to 72 h) have poor outcomes. This review assessed the role of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) for such people. METHODS: standard bibliographic databases were searched for high-quality randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of CGA in this setting. When appropriate, intervention effects were presented as rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: five trials of sufficient quality were included. There was no clear evidence of benefit for CGA interventions in this population in terms of mortality [RR 0.92 (95% CI 0.55-1.52)] or readmissions [RR 0.95 (95% CI 0.83-1.08)] or for subsequent institutionalisation, functional ability, quality-of-life or cognition. CONCLUSIONS: there is no clear evidence of benefit for CGA interventions in frail older people being discharged from emergency departments or acute medical units. However, few such trials have been carried out and their overall quality was poor. Further well designed trials are justified.

Does looped nasogastric tube feeding improve nutritional delivery for patients with dysphagia after acute stroke? A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: nasogastric tube (NGT) feeding is commonly used after stroke, but its effectiveness is limited by frequent dislodgement. OBJECTIVE: the objective of the study was to evaluate looped NGT feeding in acute stroke patients with dysphagia. METHODS: this was a randomised controlled trial of 104 patients with acute stroke fed by NGT in three UK stroke units. NGT was secured using either a nasal loop (n = 51) or a conventional adhesive dressing (n = 53). The main outcome measure was the proportion of prescribed feed and fluids delivered via NGT in 2 weeks post-randomisation. Secondary outcomes were frequency of NGT insertions, treatment failure, tolerability, adverse events and costs at 2 weeks; mortality; length of hospital stay; residential status; and Barthel Index at 3 months. RESULTS: participants assigned to looped NGT feeding received a mean 17% (95% confidence interval 5-28%) more volume of feed and fluids, required fewer NGTs (median 1 vs 4), and had fewer electrolyte abnormalities than controls. There was more minor nasal trauma in the loop group. There were no differences in outcomes at 3 months. Looped NGT feeding cost 88 pounds sterling more per patient over 2 weeks than controls. CONCLUSION: looped NGT feeding improves delivery of feed and fluids and reduces NGT reinsertion with little additional cost.

Outcomes of hospital admissions among frail older people: a 2-year cohort study.

BACKGROUND: 'Frailty crises' are a common cause of hospital admission among older people and there is significant focus on admission avoidance. However, identifying frailty before a crisis occurs is challenging, making it difficult to effectively target community services. Better longer-term outcome data are needed if services are to reflect the needs of the growing population of older people with frailty. AIM: To determine long-term outcomes of older people discharged from hospital following short (<72 hours) and longer hospital admissions compared by frailty status. DESIGN AND SETTING: Two populations aged ≥70 years discharged from hospital units: those following short 'ambulatory' admissions (<72 hours) and those following longer inpatient stays. METHOD: Data for 2-year mortality and hospital use were compared using frailty measures derived from clinical and hospital data. RESULTS: Mortality after 2 years was increased for frail compared with non-frail individuals in both cohorts. Patients in the ambulatory cohort classified as frail had increased mortality (Rockwood hazard ratio 2.3 [95% confidence interval {CI} = 1.5 to 3.4]) and hospital use (Rockwood rate ratio 2.1 [95% CI = 1.7 to 2.6]) compared with those patients classified as non-frail. CONCLUSION: Individuals with frailty who are discharged from hospital experience increased mortality and resource use, even after short 'ambulatory' admissions. This is an easily identifiable group that is at increased risk of poor outcomes. Health and social care systems might wish to examine their current care response for frail older people discharged from hospital. There may be value in a 'secondary prevention' approach to frailty crises targeting individuals who are discharged from hospital.