Development, Validation and Field Evaluation of the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study (SLAS) Risk Index for Prediction of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.

BACKGROUND: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a critical pre-dementia target for preventive interventions. There are few brief screening tools based on self-reported personal lifestyle and health-related information for predicting MCI that have been validated for their generalizability and utility in primary care and community settings. OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a MCI risk prediction index, and evaluate its field application in a pilot community intervention trial project. DESIGN: Two independent population-based cohorts in the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study (SLAS). We used SLAS1 as a development cohort to construct the risk assessment instrument, and SLA2 as a validation cohort to verify its generalizability. SETTING: community-based screening and lifestyle intervention Participants: (1) SLAS1 cognitively normal (CN) aged ≥55 years with average 3 years (N=1601); (2) SLAS2 cohort (N=3051) with average 4 years of follow up. (3) 437 participants in a pilot community intervention project. MEASUREMENTS: The risk index indicators included age, female sex, years of schooling, hearing loss, depression, life satisfaction, number of cardio-metabolic risk factors (wide waist circumference, pre-diabetes or diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia). Weighted summed scores predicted probabilities of MCI or dementia. A self-administered questionnaire field version of the risk index was deployed in the pilot community project and evaluated using pre-intervention baseline cognitive function of participants. RESULTS: Risk scores were associated with increasing probabilities of progression to MCI-or-dementia in the development cohort (AUC=0.73) and with increased prevalence and incidence of MCI-or-dementia in the validation cohort (AUC=0.74). The field questionnaire risk index identified high risk individuals with strong correlation with RBANS cognitive scores in the community program (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The SLAS risk index is accurate and replicable in predicting MCI, and is applicable in community interventions for dementia prevention.

Nutritional Status and Risks of Cognitive Decline and Incident Neurocognitive Disorders: Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Studies.

BACKGROUND: Studies suggest that nutritional interventions using the whole diet approach such as the Mediterranean diet may delay cognitive decline and dementia onset. However, substantial numbers of older adults are non-adherent to any ideally healthy dietary pattern and are at risk of malnutrition. OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the relationship between global malnutrition risk and onsets of cognitive decline and neurocognitive disorders (NCD), including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Participants aged ≥ 55 years in the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Studies (SLAS) were assessed at baseline using the Elderly Nutritional Indicators for Geriatric Malnutrition Assessment (ENIGMA) and followed up 3-5 years subsequently on cognitive decline (MMSE drop ≥ 2) among 3128 dementia-free individuals, and incident neurocognitive disorders (NCD) among 2640 cognitive normal individuals. RESULTS: Individuals at high nutritional risk score (≥ 3) were more likely to develop cognitive decline (OR=1.42, 95%CI=1.01-1.99) and incident MCI-or-dementia (OR=1.64, 95%CI=1.03-2.59), controlling for age, sex, ethnicity, low education, APOE-e4, hearing loss, physical, social, and mental activities, depressive symptoms, smoking, alcohol, central obesity, hypertension, diabetes, low HDL, high triglyceride, cardiac disease, and stroke. Among ENIGMA component indicators, low albumin at baseline was associated with cognitive decline and incident NCD, and 5 or more drugs used, few fruits/vegetables/milk products daily, and low total cholesterol were associated with incident NCD. CONCLUSION: The ENIGMA measure of global malnutrition risk predicts cognitive decline and incident neurocognitive disorders, suggesting the feasibility of identifying vulnerable subpopulations of older adults for correction of malnutrition risk to prevent neurocognitive disorders.

Tranexamic acid in traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Some surgeons advocate the usage of tranexamic acid (TXA) in traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness and safety of TXA in improving the outcome of TBI patients and in reducing the rate of clot expansion and mortality in TBI as compared to those without TXA. METHODS: This is a prospective observational cohort study conducted in Sarawak General Hospital, Malaysia. Patients 12 years of age and older with mild to severe TBI who had a brain computed tomography (CT) done within eight hours of injury were enrolled in the study. A total of 334 patients were recruited from the 5th of August 2016 until the 8th of March 2018 in Sarawak General Hospital. In all 167 of them were administered with TXA and another 167 of the patients were not. The primary outcome expected is the number of good outcomes in isolated TBI patients given TXA. Good outcome is defined by Glasgow Outcome Score-Extended (GOSE) of five and above. Secondary outcome was clot expansion of an intracranial bleed seen on the first scan that had expanded by 25% or more on any dimension on the second scan. RESULTS: The TXA did not show significant trend of good outcome in terms of GOSE (p=0.763). However, for moderate and severe acute subdural haemorrhage (SDH) subgroups, there was a significant difference (p=0.042). Clot expansion was present in 14 patients (12.7%) with TXA given and in 54 patients (38.8%) without TXA. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). Of the patients who received TXA, there was one case (0.6%) of deep vein thrombosis. Apart from that, TXA showed non-significant trend in reducing mortality (p=0.474). CONCLUSIONS: Tranexamic acid reduces the rate of clot expansion in TBI by 26.1% (38.8-12.7%) without significantly increasing the risk of a thrombotic event. It can also improve the outcome of moderate and severe TBI patients with acute SDH.

Risk Factors of Progression to Frailty: Findings from the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate risk factors of incident physical frailty. DESIGN: A population-based observational longitudinal study. SETTING: Community-dwelling elderly with age 55 years and above recruited from 2009 through 2011 in the second wave Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Study-2 (SLAS-2) were followed up 3-5 years later. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1297 participants, mean age of 65.6 ±0.19, who were free of physical frailty. MEASUREMENTS: Incident frailty defined by three or more criteria of the physical phenotype used in the Cardiovascular Health Study was determined at follow-up. Potential risk factors assessed at baseline included demographic, socioeconomic, medical, psychological factors, and biochemical markers. RESULTS: A total of 204 (15.7%) participants, including 81 (10.87%) of the robust and 123 (22.28%) of the prefrail transited to frailty at follow-up. Age, no education, MMSE score, diabetes, prediabetes and diabetes, arthritis, ≥5 medications, fair and poor self-rated health, moderate to high nutritional risk (NSI ≥3), Hb (g/dL), CRP (mg/L), low B12, low folate, albumin (g/L), low total cholesterol, adjusted for sex, age and education, were significantly associated (p<0.05) with incident frailty. In stepwise selection models, age (year) (OR=1.07, 95%CI=1.03-1.10, p<0.001), albumin (g/L) (OR=0.85, 95%CI=0.77-0.94, p=0.002), MMSE score (OR=0.88, 95%CI=0.78-0.98, p=0.02), low folate (OR=3.72, 95%CI=1.17-11.86, p=0.03, and previous hospitalization (OR=2.26, 95%CI=1.01-5.04,p=0.05) were significantly associated with incident frailty. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed multiple modifiable risk factors, especially related to poor nutrition, for which preventive measures and early management could potentially halt or delay the development of frailty.

Multi-Domains Lifestyle Interventions Reduces Depressive Symptoms among Frail and Pre-Frail Older Persons: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the effect of multi-domain lifestyle (physical, nutritional, cognitive) interventions among frail and pre-frail community-living older persons on reducing depressive symptoms. METHOD: Participants aged 65 and above were randomly allocated to 24 weeks duration interventions with nutritional supplementation (N=49), physical training (N=48), cognitive training (N=50), combination intervention (N=49) and usual care control (N=50). Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) at baseline (0M), 3 month (3M), 6 month (6M) and 12 month (12M). RESULTS: Mean GDS scores in the control group increased from 0.52 (0M) and 0.54 (3M) to 0.74 (6M), and 0.83 (12M). Compared to the control group, interventions showed significant differences (∆=change) at 6M for cognitive versus control (∆=-0.39, p=0.021, group*time interaction p=0.14); physical versus control (∆ =-0.37, p=0.026, group*time interaction p=0.13), and at 12M for nutrition versus control (∆ =-0.46, p=0.016, group*time interaction p=0.15). The effect for combination versus control was significant at 6M (∆ =-0.43, p=0.020) and 12M (∆ =-0.51, p=0.005, group*time interaction p=0.026). Estimated 12-month cumulative incidence of depressive symptoms (GDS≥2) relative to control were OR=0.38, p=0.037 (nutrition); OR=0.71, p=0.40 (cognitive); OR=0.39, p=0.042 (physical training) and OR=0.38, p=0.037 (combination). Changes in gait speed and energy level were significantly associated with changes in GDS scores over time. CONCLUSION: Multi-domain interventions that reverse frailty among community-living older persons also reduce depressive symptomatology. Public health education and programmatic measures combining nutritional, physical and cognitive interventions for at-risk frail older people may likely benefit psychological wellbeing.

Tea consumption and physical function in older adults: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Tea consumption has been reported to be associated with lowered risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and osteoporosis that cause functional disability, but its association with physical function has not been investigated directly. OBJECTIVE: We examined the association between tea consumption and performance in gait and balance, instrumental and basic activities of daily living (IADL and BADL) in a cross-sectional study of community-living older persons. METHOD: Baseline data of 2398 adults aged ≥ 55 years in the Singapore Longitudinal Ageing Studies who completed self-reported current tea consumption, Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) of gait and balance, and self reports of BADL and IADL were analyzed. RESULTS: In multivariate analyses controlling for age, gender, education, housing type, co-morbidities, hospitalization, arthritis and hip fracture, GDS depression score, MMSE cognitive score, body mass index, creatinine, serum albumin, haemoglobin, physical activities score and coffee consumption, tea consumption was positively associated with better balance (ß=0.06, p<0.01), gait (ß=0.01, p=0.02), IADL (ß=0.03, p=0.01) and BADL (ß=0.01, p=0.05). Strongly positive associations were observed for black/oolong tea in multivariate analyses, and for green tea consumption only in univariate analysis, whereas coffee consumption was not associated at all. CONCLUSIONS: Tea consumption was associated with better physical functional performances in community-living older adults.

An unusual localised reaction associated with vancomycin therapy.

Vancomycin has been documented to cause various adverse cutaneous reactions. We present a case report of a man, who developed a large localized erythematous plaque in his forearm following parenteral vancomycin therapy. We believe this to be the first reported case of such cutaneous reaction associated with parenteral vancomycin therapy.

Serum albumin and hemoglobin are associated with physical function in community-living older persons in Singapore.

OBJECTIVES: Albumin and hemoglobin are viewed as markers of nutritional and inflammatory status. This study examined the associations of serum albumin and hemoglobin with physical function in community-living older adults. DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional and longitudinal study. SETTING: The Singapore Longitudinal Aging Studies (SLAS), a community-based study in urban Singapore. PARTICIPANTS: 2762 older adults aged 55 and above assessed at baseline, and 1829 at follow up 1-2 years later. MEASUREMENTS: Serum albumin and hemoglobin, Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA), knee extension strength at baseline, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) at baseline and follow up. RESULTS: In cross-sectional multivariate analyses that adjusted for haemoglobin and other confounders, albumin showed a significant linear association (p<0.001) with POMA balance score (b=0.06, SE=0.02) and knee extension strength (b=0.70, SE=0.10). Independently of albumin, hemoglobin also showed a significant linear association with POMA balance score (b=0.09, SE=0.04). In longitudinal analyses, albumin was significantly associated with IADL decline (IADL total score drop>=1 during follow-up), OR= 0.92 (0.87 - 0.97), p=<0.01. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that low levels of albumin and hemoglobin are potentially useful risk markers of physical functional decline in older adults. Further research should investigate whether improvements in the levels of albumin and hemoglobin alter the level of functional disability and risk of functional decline.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements and cognitive decline: Singapore Longitudinal Aging Studies.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) supplements intake and cognitive decline in an older Chinese population. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: The Singapore Longitudinal Aging Studies (SLAS), a community-based study in urban region of Singapore. PARTICIPANTS: 1,475 Chinese adults aged ≥ 55 years. MEASUREMENT: Omega-3 PUFA supplements intake and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were assessed at baseline. MMSE was re-assessed at a median of 1.5 years after baseline and cognitive decline was defined as at least 2-points drop in MMSE score from baseline to follow-up. Odds ratios (ORs) of association between n-3 PUFA supplements intake and cognitive decline were calculated in logistic regression models controlling for baseline confounding variables. RESULTS: Daily n-3 PUFA supplements intake was significantly (p=0.024) associated with lower risk of cognitive decline (OR=0.37, 95% C.I. 0.16-0.87) after controlling for age, gender, education, number of medical comorbidity, the presence of vascular risk factors/diseases, smoking, alcohol drinking, depression, APOE e4 allele carrier status, nutritional status, level of leisure activities, baseline MMSE and length of follow-up. The association remained significant (p=0.015) after excluding participants with baseline cognitive impairment (MMSE < 24), diabetes, stroke, and cardiac diseases (OR=0.23, 95% C.I. 0.07-0.75). No statistically significant association (OR=1.02, 95% C.I. 0.81-1.27) of fish consumption with cognitive decline was found. CONCLUSION: Daily n-3 PUFA supplements consumption was independently associated with less cognitive decline in elderly Chinese.

Nutrition screening among community-dwelling older adults in Singapore.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to describe responses to the DETERMINE checklist and the nutritional risk level of community-dwelling older Chinese in Singapore, aged 55 years and older. METHODS: Data was collected from a community health screening project for elderly residents in Singapore. All residents aged 55 years and older in the survey area were identified in door-to-door census surveys and were invited to participate. Participants completed a questionnaire interview conducted by research nurses. The survey also included questions which were potential predictors of nutritional risk: sociodemographic factors (age, gender, education, housing type, marital status, and living arrangement) and health-related factors (self-rated health, number of medical comorbidities, hospitalisations in the past year, functional disabilities and physical health status). RESULTS: Data for analysis was provided by 2,605 Chinese subjects aged between 55 and 98 years (mean/standard deviation 66.0/7.7). The overall prevalence of nutritional risk (according to a DETERMINE score of 3 or greater) was 30.1 percent. 1,822 (69.9 percent) subjects had no nutritional risk (scores of 2 or lower), 664 (25.5 percent) had moderate nutritional risk and 119 (4.6 percent) had high nutritional risk. The most common contributions to nutritional risks were: changing food intake due to illness (40.3 percent), taking three or more different medications daily (25.0 percent), eating alone (14.5 percent) and consuming insufficient amount of fruits, vegetables or milk products on a daily basis (9.0 percent). Respondents at nutritional risk were more likely to have three or more comorbid medical conditions, were hospitalised in the past year, were functionally dependent on one or more instrumental or basic activities of daily living, were reported to have poor or fair self-rated health, and were in the lowest tertile scores for SF-12 quality of life and depression. CONCLUSION: Self-rated general health, lowered quality of life, functional disability and depression have meaningful non-circular associations with the checklist. These support the validity of the DETERMINE checklist in predicting the risk of adverse health conditions and events.

Hyponatraemia in hospitalised elderly patients.

This study aims to investigate the incidence and causes of hyponatraemia in hospitalised elderly patients. There was a total of 407 new patients. 55 (13.5%) patients were found to have at least one episode of hyponatraemia during their hospitalization. There were 58 deaths. Fifteen out of 55 (27.3%) patients who had hyponatraemia died compared to 43 out of 352 (12.2%) normonatraemic patients (chi-square significant, p < 0.01). The three most common causes of hyponatraemia were syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), poor oral intake and diuretics. The two most common causes of SIADH were lower respiratory tract infection and stroke.

Screening for hearing impairment in hospitalised elderly.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of hearing impairment in hospitalised elderly patients using the Welch Allyn Audioscope 3. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Consecutive geriatric patients admitted to an acute 38-bedded geriatric ward over a 4-week period in 1998 were screened for hearing impairment. The examination was conducted in a quiet side-room adjacent to the ward. Ability to hear normal conversation at arm's length and the whispered voice were noted. A conventional auroscopy was done. Screening using Welch Allyn Audioscope 3 was then conducted at 40 dB using speech frequencies of 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz. Individuals who failed to respond at any 2 frequencies in the better ear were deemed to have significant hearing impairment. Patients with impacted earwax had repeat audioscopic examination after wax was cleared. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-four patients were enrolled. Fifty-four patients were excluded from the study: 37 patients had dementia, 11 were critically ill, 5 were dysphasic while 1 had acute confusion. The remaining 70 patients were included in the study. The median age of the study group was 81 years (range 72 to 96 years). There were equal number of males and females. Forty-seven (67.1%) patients had hearing impairment. Nineteen (40.4%) out of 47 hearing-impaired patients could not hear normal conversation at arm's length while 34 (72.3%) out of the same 47 patients failed the whispered voice test. Only 22 (46.8%) hearing-impaired patients complained of hearing difficulties. Four out of the 47 hearing-impaired patients possessed hearing aids. Majority (83.0%) of patients with hearing impairment did not want hearing aids and cited "no necessity" as the main reason for not wanting them. Five (7.1%) and 12 (17.1%) patients had bilateral and unilateral impacted ears respectively. Two out of 20 ears cleared of wax improved by one tone on repeat auroscopy. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hearing impairment in hospitalised elderly patients was found to be very high during screening with an audioscope. However, identification of hearing impairment using the audioscope was not associated with keenness of wanting a hearing aid. The important factors associated with keenness for wanting a hearing aid were difficulty with hearing conversation at arm's and complaint about being handicapped socially by hearing difficulty. Screening for hearing impairment should be part of the routine in the examination of a hospitalised elderly as the prevalence of the disease is very high. Ability to hear normal conversation at arm's length alone was not a reliable method of screening for hearing impairment and it should be complemented by the whispered voice test. The audioscope is an expensive instrument and not widely available. Although the audioscope screening method was able to pick up more cases of hearing impairment, it did not result in more patients wanting hearing aid. Those detected to have hearing impairment will require further counselling regarding the usefulness of a hearing aid and detailed audiological assessment if they are keen for a hearing aid.

End-of-life issues--preferences and choices of a group of elderly Chinese subjects attending a day care centre in Singapore.

INTRODUCTION: This was an exploratory study that was intended to provide a descriptive analysis of the choices and preferences of a group of elderly Chinese subjects attending a day care centre in Singapore with regard to end-of-life issues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A semi-structured one-to-one interview was conducted to collect data from the subjects. Qualitative techniques were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Forty-three subjects were interviewed. The median age was 71 years. There were more women than men (58.1% vs. 41.9%). The predominant religion was Buddhism/Taoism. 83.7% and 76.7% of the subjects preferred to be told of the diagnosis and prognosis of a terminal illness, respectively. The person most preferred to reveal the diagnosis was the attending doctor (60.5%). About 83.7% of the subjects have never heard of the Advanced Medical Directive Act, while 37.2% agreed that making an advanced directive would be necessary. Twenty-three (53.5%) would choose the doctor, while 15 (34.9%) would choose a family member as a surrogate decision-maker. Twenty-two (51.2%) thought that euthanasia should be allowed, while 15 (34.9%) disagreed. With regard to supportive measures at the end of life, 67.4% wanted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 62.8% wanted artificial ventilation, 55.8% wanted nasogastric feeding, 65.1% wanted intravenous hydration and 41.9% wanted renal dialysis. CONCLUSION: There is a need for closer communication between older persons and their carers with regard to end-of-life care. The attending doctor appears to have an important role in this respect.

Interaction of fluvoxamine with warfarin in an elderly woman.

An 80-year-old woman presented with an embolic stroke secondary to atrial fibrillation and mitral stenosis. She was initially on intravenous heparin and was subsequently maintained on oral warfarin. She was also given digoxin for atrial fibrillation and colchicine for gouty arthritis as well as fluvoxamine in her fourth week in hospital, to treat her depression. However, her INR (international normalised ratio) became markedly elevated within a week. Fluvoxamine and warfarin were stopped immediately. When warfarin was reintroduced 6 days later, her INR value increased again. The coagulation profile only became stable after 2 weeks of cessation of fluvoxamine. Low dose fluvoxamine can interact significantly with warfarin in the elderly and the effect may persist for up to 2 weeks of stopping the antidepressant.

Bilateral caudate infarct--a case report.

Caudate strokes comprise only a small proportion of all subtypes of strokes. Bilateral caudate infarcts are even rarer and only a few cases have been reported in the literature. We report an 86-year-old woman with bilateral caudate infarcts. She had no past medical history of note. She presented with headache for several days and drowsiness on day of admission. Clinical examination revealed abulia, inability to comprehend or verbalize (acute mutism), right-sided neglect and right-sided hemiparesis. Computed tomographic (CT) scan brain revealed decreased attenuation in both heads of both caudate nuclei with extension across the anterior limb of both internal capsules to involve the lentiform nuclei. Echocardiography showed aortic valve sclerosis, mild mitral and aortic regurgitation and normal left ventricular function. Carotid ultrasound revealed mild stenosis of proximal right internal carotid and left distal common carotid and adjacent proximal internal carotid arteries. She showed initial improvement in the first week, but subsequently had a progressive downward course despite rehabilitation and died 44 days after her stroke. A patient with bilateral caudate infarcts is likely to have poor prognosis for rehabilitation and survival.

The prescribing pattern of outpatient polyclinic doctors.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyse the prescribing pattern of doctors working in a government outpatient polyclinic in Singapore. DESIGN: Retrospective study of 1 week of prescription scripts in 1996. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number, types and duration of drugs prescribed; combination of drugs; age distribution; bad handwriting. RESULTS: Two thousand six hundred and seventy-nine scripts were analysed. The age of patients ranged from 1 to 93 years with a mean of 43.8 years. There were 44.0% males and 56.0% females. The overall mean of 'total number of drugs prescribed' was 2.8 items. The means of 'number of drug items prescribed for more than 1 week' by age-group were: < 20 years = 0.2, 20 to < 40 years = 0.5, 40 to < 60 years = 1.3 and > 60 years = 2.4. One way analysis of variance showed significant difference between the means of each age-group. Post hoc analysis revealed that the oldest age group accounted for most of this significant result. The top 10 drugs prescribed in descending order were: antihistamines, paracetamol, throat medications (eg. lozenges, gargles, etc), nifedipine, beta-blockers, antacids, mist benadryl expectorant, Procodin cough syrup (containing codeine and promethazine), amoxycillin and vitamin B. Nifedipine and beta-blockers were the most commonly prescribed anti-hypertensives. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were usually prescribed with antacids. One hundred and twenty (4.5%) scripts were illegible. CONCLUSION: This study provides a baseline data for monitoring future prescribing trends. There may be a need to re-evaluate the appropriateness of nifedipine as the first line anti-hypertensive drug and the usefulness of NSAID-antacid and amoxycillin-cloxacillin combinations. The prevalence of illegible handwriting was high.

Ischaemic hepatitis in an elderly woman.

An elderly woman presented with very high levels of transaminases and lactic dehydrogenase in her liver function tests. Viral and drug-induced hepatitis were considered unlikely because of the absence of risk factors. Sepsis was suspected and antibiotic treatment was started with clinical improvement. A retrospective diagnosis of ischaemic hepatitis due to septicaemia was made. Markedly raised liver transaminases need not always be drug-induced or viral-related, especially in the elderly. It could be ischaemic in origin and the serious underlying condition needs to be sought and treated urgently.

Posterior cerebral artery territory infarct presenting as acute psychosis.

An 82-year-old man with a past medical history of hypertension was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for sudden onset of acute psychosis. He was then transferred to an acute geriatric unit for further evaluation. During the admission the patient was noted to be very restless, agitated and noisy and was shouting and screaming incessantly. This was interspersed with occasional short periods of calm and quiet. Clinically, no obvious focal neurological deficits were detected. A CT scan of the brain was performed and it revealed an acute infarct involving the area supplied by the left posterior cerebral artery. This was a rather atypical presentation for an infarct involving this area.

The presentation of elderly people at an emergency department in Singapore.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to provide demographic and clinical data of elderly people attending one of the hospital emergency departments in Singapore. DESIGN: Patients aged 60 years and above who attended the Emergency Department (ED) at Alexandra Hospital, Singapore, during 4 randomly selected one-week periods in 1996 were retrospectively studied. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient profile; presenting symptoms; diagnoses; types of investigations done, and outcome following attendance. RESULTS: A total of 455 ED attendance cards were analysed. The age of patients ranged from 60 to 102 years with a mean age of 72.8 years. Two hundred and sixty-one (57.4%) were males and 194 (42.6%) were females. Four hundred and twenty-seven (93.9%) were emergencies, 25 (5.5%) were non-emergencies and in 3 (0.6%) the priority rating was unknown. Two hundred and ninety (63.7%) were admitted, of whom 166 (57.2%) were males. One (0.2%) was admitted for social reason. The 3 most common symptoms were abnormalities of breathing (10.6%), falls (9.4%) and musculoskeletal pain (8.2%). Majority had 1 (40.4%) or 2 (41.6%) symptoms. The symptoms were mainly acute (1 day, 45.2%) or less than a week (25.7%). The 3 most common diagnoses were chest infection or pneumonia (8.2%), non-fracture head injury (7.2%) and heart failure (6.6%). Most patients (90.5%) had only 1 diagnosis. The 3 most common tests done were chest X-ray (172 patients, 37.8%), electrocardiography (119 patients, 26.2%) and blood glucose (86 patients, 19.0%). One hundred and twenty (26.4%) patients did not require any investigation. CONCLUSION: The elderly constituted 12.4% of attendance at the ED but formed 34.5% of admissions. They were more likely to have emergency problems. Understanding the common presenting symptoms and diagnoses of the elderly will help doctors at the ED provide better care. Elderly patients with complex problems who are not hospitalised would probably benefit from further geriatric assessment.

Day hospital rehabilitation for the elderly: a retrospective study.

Alexandra Hospital has the first day hospital for rehabilitation of the elderly in Singapore. To determine if functional skills and mobility improved significantly with a Day Hospital rehabilitation programme, and the factors influencing the outcome, a pre-test/post-test study was conducted on 30 male and 34 female patients discharged from the programme between 1 October 1995 and 30 June 1996. The Barthel Index was used to assess functional status and the Elderly Mobility Scale was used to assess mobility. All patients were assessed by trained therapists and scored on admission to and at discharge from the programme. We found a significant difference in the mean Barthel Index scores of 59.7 (SD 18.7) on admission and 71.4 (SD 20.5) at discharge (P < 0.001). The difference in the mean Elderly Mobility Scale of 7.1 (SD 4.3) on admission and 11.8 (SD 4.7) at discharge was also significant (P < 0.001). Improvement in functional skills and mobility were both inversely correlated with age. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that age and Barthel Index on admission were significant independent determinants of the Barthel Index at discharge, while age, Barthel Index and Elderly Mobility Score on admission significantly determined the Elderly Mobility Scale at discharge. This study showed that functional skills and mobility improved with rehabilitation in the elderly population, but younger and less severely disabled individuals tended to fare better.