Design and methodology of the screening for CKD among older patients across Europe (SCOPE) study: a multicenter cohort observational study.

BACKGROUND: Decline of renal function is common in older persons and the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rising with ageing. CKD affects different outcomes relevant to older persons, additionally to morbidity and mortality which makes CKD a relevant health burden in this population. Still, accurate laboratory measurement of kidney function is under debate, since current creatinine-based equations have a certain degree of inaccuracy when used in the older population. The aims of the study are as follows: to assess kidney function in a cohort of 75+ older persons using existing methodologies for CKD screening; to investigate existing and innovative biomarkers of CKD in this cohort, and to align laboratory and biomarker results with medical and functional data obtained from this cohort. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02691546, February 25th 2016. METHODS/DESIGN: An observational, multinational, multicenter, prospective cohort study in community dwelling persons aged 75 years and over, visiting the outpatient clinics of participating institutions. The study will enroll 2450 participants and is carried out in Austria, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. Participants will undergo clinical and laboratory evaluations at baseline and after 12 and 24 months- follow-up. Clinical evaluation also includes a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). Local laboratory will be used for 'basic' parameters (including serum creatinine and albumin-to-creatinine ratio), whereas biomarker assessment will be conducted centrally. An intermediate telephone follow-up will be carried out at 6 and 18 months. DISCUSSION: Combining the use of CGA and the investigation of novel and existing independent biomarkers within the SCOPE study will help to provide evidence in the development of European guidelines and recommendations in the screening and management of CKD in older people. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered prospectively on the 25th February 2016 at clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT02691546 ).

Prognostic Significance of the PROFUND Index on One Year Mortality in Acute Heart Failure: Results from the RICA Registry.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a syndrome with high prevalence, mainly affecting elderly patients, where the presence of associated comorbidities is of great importance. Methods: An observational study from a prospective registry was conducted. Patients identified from the National Registry of Heart Failure (RICA), which belongs to the Working Group on Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation of the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI), were included. The latter is a prospective, multicenter registry that has been active since 2008. It includes individual consecutive patients over 50 years of age with a diagnosis of HF at hospital discharge (acute decompensated or new-onset HF). Results: In total, 5424 patients were identified from the registry. Forty-seven percent were men and mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 51.4%; 1132 had a score of 0 to 2 according to the PROFUND index, 3087 had a score of 3 to 6, and 952 patients had a score of 7 to 10 points. In the sample, 252 patients had a score above 11 points. At the end of the year of follow-up, 61% of the patients died. This mortality increased proportionally as the PROFUND index increased, specifically 75% for patients with PROFUND greater than 11. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve shows that survival at one year progressively decreases as the PROFUND index value increases. Thus, subjects with scores greater than seven (intermediate-high and high-risk) presented the worst survival with a log rank of 0.96 and a p < 0.05. In the regression analysis, we found a higher risk of death from any cause at one year in the group with the highest risk according to the PROFUND index (score greater than 11 points (HR 1.838 (1.410−2.396)). Conclusions: The PROFUND index is a good index for predicting mortality in patients admitted for acute HF, especially in those subjects at intermediate to high risk with scores above seven. Future studies should seek to determine whether the PROFUND index score is simply a prognostic marker or whether it can also be used to make therapeutic decisions for those subjects with very high short-term mortality.

[Preventing dependency in the elderly.]. / Prevención de la dependencia en las personas mayores.

INTRODUCTION: dependency, i.e. the need to depend on another person to perform activities of daily living, is the main concern and cause of suffering and poor quality of life in the elderly. The prevalence of dependency increases with age and is related to the presence of prior disease and fragility. Dependency is associated with increased morbidity, mortality and institutionalization, as well as with greater health and social resource utilization, all of which increases health costs. OBJECTIVE: to create a consensus document on the main health recommendations for the prevention of dependency in the elderly, based on the scientific evidence available to date, with the collaboration of scientific societies and public health administrations (the Spanish Ministry of Health, Autonomous Communities and Cities). METHODS: a) a preliminary consensus document was drafted by an expert group composed of representatives of various scientific societies and health administrations. This document was based on a review of the recommendations and guidelines published by the main organizations involved in health promotion and the prevention of disease, functional deterioration and dependency in the elderly; b) the consensus document was reviewed by the remaining experts assigned by the scientific societies and central and autonomous administrations; c) the final document was approved after a session in which the text was discussed and reviewed by all the experts participating in the working group (including the academic committee); d) the document was presented and discussed in the First National Conference on Prevention and Health Promotion in Clinical Practice in Spain. All participating experts signed a conflicts of interest statement. RESULTS: the document provides recommendations, with their grades of evidence, grouped in the following three categories: a) health promotion and disease prevention, with specific preventive activities for the elderly, including prevention of geriatric syndromes; b) prevention of functional deterioration, with clinical recommendations that can be applied in primary and specialized care; c) prevention of iatrogeny (drug prescription, inappropriate use of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities and healthcare). These recommendations were tailored to the characteristics of the older person (OP), categorized in five groups: healthy OP, OP with chronic disease, fragile or at risk OP, dependent OP, and OP at the end of life. CONCLUSION: these recommendations should be implemented by public health administrations to improve strategies for the prevention of dependency in the elderly in the XXI century.

[Relationship between blood pressure and mortality at 4 years of follow up in a cohort of individuals aged over 80 years]. / Relación entre presión arterial y mortalidad a los 4 años de seguimiento en una cohorte de individuos mayores de 80 años.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To study the association between blood pressure and mortality in a cohort of over 80 years olders of the community after four years of follow up. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An observational study cohort of 323 individuals aged over 80 years the population of Martorell. We collected sociodemographic data, comorbidity, evaluation of the basic activities of daily living and the average blood pressure. The mortality and its causes were evaluated after four years of follow up. The association between blood pressure and mortality was investigated using Cox survival analysis. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-five (41.8%) patients died, resulting in a mortality rate of 14.5% for year. In 60% of cases the cause of death was of cardiovascular origin. Subjects with systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 130 mm Hg had a mortality of 63.5% compared to those in the range of SBP = 140-159 mm Hg, who had a mortality of 25.5% (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.21-0.72; p = 0.003). Female gender (HR: 0.62, 95% CI 0.39-0.97, p < 0.036), age (HR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.04-1.18, p < 0.001), ischemic heart disease (HR: 2.14, 95% CI 1.23-3.70, p < 0.006), orthostatic hypotension (HR: 3.78, 95% CI: 1.88-7.60, p < 0.001), Barthel Index (HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.96-0.98, p < 0.001), and SBP = 140-159 mm Hg (HR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.13-0.72; p = 0.007) were independent factors associated with mortality at 4 years of follow up. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high cardiovascular mortality in people aged more than 80 years. The risk factors associated with mortality are being female, older age, history of heart disease, presence of orthostatic hypotension and worse function. SBP below 130 mm Hg is associated with increased mortality.