Tolerance of clinical uncertainty by geriatric residents: a qualitative study.

CONTEXT: With the growing complexity in health care, clinical uncertainty increases, even more so in geriatrics. Intolerance of clinical uncertainty can result in stress, burnout and additional costs. This makes tolerance of clinical uncertainty a highly relevant skill to learn. This study investigated how residents cope with clinical uncertainty and explored options to improve their tolerance of it. METHODS: We interviewed nine residents from the geriatric department of a university medical center and analyzed the interviews conform template analysis using the 'integrative model of uncertainty tolerance'. RESULTS: All residents experienced clinical uncertainty regularly and emphasized it was a relevant topic. Residents described clinical uncertainty as both negative and positive, explaining it was difficult to deal with and could lead to stress, but it also kept them focused, challenged them and stimulated learning. While most of the reported topics fitted in the theoretical model, the model did not reflect the dynamics of clinical uncertainty and lacked its consequences outside the workplace. Residents mainly responded to clinical uncertainty by asking supervisors and peers to double-check their decisions concerning a patient. Residents indicated that they barely discussed their own emotions, cognitions or learning processes with peers or their supervisors. They would welcome the incorporation of clinical uncertainty as standard theme in patient supervision and educational meetings. CONCLUSION: Clinical uncertainty is not a problem of an insecure, failing resident, but an inherent part of caring for complex geriatric patients. Residents deserve to be trained in tolerance of clinical uncertainty to improve their well-being and care for geriatric patients.

European postgraduate curriculum in geriatric medicine developed using an international modified Delphi technique.

BACKGROUND: the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS-GMS) recommendations for training in Geriatric Medicine were published in 1993. The practice of Geriatric Medicine has developed considerably since then and it has therefore become necessary to update these recommendations. METHODS: under the auspices of the UEMS-GMS, the European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) and the European Academy of Medicine of Ageing (EAMA), a group of experts, representing all member states of the respective bodies developed a new framework for education and training of specialists in Geriatric Medicine using a modified Delphi technique. Thirty-two expert panel members from 30 different countries participated in the process comprising three Delphi rounds for consensus. The process was led by five facilitators. RESULTS: the final recommendations include four different domains: 'General Considerations' on the structure and aim of the syllabus as well as quality indicators for training (6 sub-items), 'Knowledge in patient care' (36 sub-items), 'Additional Skills and Attitude required for a Geriatrician' (9 sub-items) and a domain on 'Assessment of postgraduate education: which items are important for the transnational comparison process' (1 item). CONCLUSION: the current publication describes the development of the new recommendations endorsed by UEMS-GMS, EuGMS and EAMA as minimum training requirements to become a geriatrician at specialist level in EU member states.

Small bowel obstruction in the elderly: a plea for comprehensive acute geriatric care.

Small bowel obstruction is one of the most frequent emergencies in general surgery, commonly affecting elderly patients. Morbidity and mortality from small bowel obstruction in elderly is high. Significant progress has been made in the diagnosis and management of bowel obstruction in recent years. But little is known whether this progress has benefitted outcomes in elderly patients, particularly those who are frail or have a malignancy as cause of the obstruction, and when considering quality of life and functioning as outcomes. In this review, we discuss the specific challenges and needs of elderly in diagnosis and treatment of small bowel obstruction. We address quality of life aspects and explore how the concept of geriatric assessment can be utilized to improve decision-making and outcomes for elderly patients with a small bowel obstruction.

Interactive online learning on perioperative management of elderly patients.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical specialists and residents lack knowledge to adequately manage frail older patients. This study aims to evaluate the effects of an interactive online course regarding attitude, self-confidence and knowledge in perioperative management of the elderly patient. METHODS: The six-weeks course consisted of expert videos, literature readings, quizzes and forum discussions. Surgical consultants with geriatric expertise and geriatricians moderated online discussions and stimulated interaction. Knowledge, self-confidence and attitude of course participants were compared at the beginning and end of the course. RESULTS: 206 medical practitioners started the course. Knowledge scores improved significantly from 49% to 65% (p < 0.005). Participants felt more secure (p < 0.005) in the treatment of the older patient at the end of the course. A better attitude correlated with a higher total knowledge score in surgeons and surgical residents (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: A six-week interactive online course on perioperative management of elderly patients increases relevant geriatric knowledge and improves self-confidence of residents and faculty.

[Improved hospital care for elderly patients: guidance on vulnerability and goal assessment]. / Betere ziekenhuiszorg voor ouderen.

Hospital care is highly disease-focused, tending towards further specialisation, and largely driven by technological innovations. Frail elderly, however, are an important and rapidly growing group of patients that is not best cared for in such a clinical environment. Case histories and the description of outcomes of an innovative programme called 'CareWell Primary Care' reveal that triage based on frailty and a global geriatric assessment of frail patients which is linked to goal-oriented hospital care and shared decision-making are the cornerstones of much needed improvement in delivering effective, safe, and sustainable hospital care to our ageing population.

[Frailty in the elderly]. / 'Frailty' bij ouderen.

Older people differ in their level of multimorbidity, functional dependence and need for assistance. Frailty is a recently constructed syndromatic entity used to characterize vulnerable older people with an increased risk of functional decline, institutionalization and death. This is illustrated by the case history of a 97-year-old woman. In addition to somatic multimorbidity, she suffered from fatigue, weight loss, diminished strength and mood, fear of falling and a decreased gait velocity, without a clear link to a disease. The term 'frailty' is useful in such cases and its application is quickly expanding. Frailty highlights the need to individualize and integrate guidelines for treatment, and to prevent adverse outcomes by choosing health care interventions fit for such frail elderly. However, in practice the frailty syndrome is defined by diverse sets of criteria. As frailty is used to predict different adverse outcomes, a single definition is not possible. Awareness of the advantages and pitfalls of the frailty concept may lead to fruitful clinical application.

The influence of fear of falling on gait and balance in older people.

BACKGROUND: fear of falling (FoF) has great impact on functioning and quality of life of older people, but its effects on gait and balance are largely unknown. METHODS: we examined FoF in 100 participants aged >or=75 years, using the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale. Participants with a mean score <67% were assigned to the FoF group. We quantified gait and balance during walking at the preferred velocity with and without a cognitive dual task (arithmetic task and verbal fluency), using an electronic walkway (Gaitrite) and a trunk accelerometer (SwayStar). Primary outcome measures were gait velocity, stride-length and stride-time variability, as well as mediolateral angular displacement and velocity. RESULTS: gait velocity was significantly lower (P < 0.05) and stride-length and stride-time variability were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the FoF group. However, after standardisation for gait velocity, differences became non-significant. Mediolateral angular displacement and velocity were not associated with FoF. We found no difference between the FoF and no-FoF group with respect to the dual-task effect on gait and balance variables. CONCLUSIONS: the lower gait velocity in the FoF group may be a useful adaptation to optimise balance, rather than a sign of decreased balance control. The ability to attend to a secondary task during walking is not influenced by FoF.

Gait velocity and the Timed-Up-and-Go test were sensitive to changes in mobility in frail elderly patients.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate clinically relevant changes in functional mobility tests and quantitative gait measures at group and individual level in frail elderly patients. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: This study was a cohort study of consecutively admitted frail elderly patients. Gait velocity, Timed-Up-and-Go test (TUG), and other mobility tests were measured on admission and 2 weeks later. In between, patients received multidisciplinary treatment. Three experts decided from video recordings if patients had a clinically relevant change in gait, defined as change in the expected risk of falling. RESULTS: A total of 85 patients (mean age 75.8 years, 46 female) participated. Of whom, 45% had dementia; 59 patients were stable and 26 showed a clinically relevant change in gait. Gait velocity and TUG were most sensitive to change at group level. In individual patients, a 5% change from baseline in gait velocity and 9% change in TUG had a sensitivity of 92% and 93% for detection of clinically relevant change, but specificity of 27% and 34%, respectively. CONCLUSION: At group level, gait velocity and TUG were, from all investigated tests, most sensitive to change and in this perspective the best outcome variables. In individual patients, the high intraindividual variability makes these measures unsuitable as independent screening instruments for clinically relevant changes in gait.

Executive functions are associated with gait and balance in community-living elderly people.

BACKGROUND: Cognition influences gait and balance in elderly people. Executive functions seem to play a key role in this mechanism. Previous studies used only a single test to probe executive functions, and outcome measures were restricted to gait variables. We extend this prior work by examining the association between two different executive functions and measures of both gait and balance, with and without two different cognitive dual tasks. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study with randomly selected community-living elderly people. Executive functions were tested with the Trail Making Test Parts A and B and the Stroop Color Word Test; memory with Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) subtests. Patients walked without and with two dual tasks (subtracting serial sevens and animal naming). Main outcomes focused on gait (velocity, stride length, and stride time variability), measured on an electronic walkway, and balance, measured as trunk movements during walking. Associations were assessed with multiple regression models. RESULTS: One hundred elderly people, with a mean age 80.6 years (range 75-93 years) participated. Both dual tasks decreased gait velocity and increased variability and trunk sway. Executive functions were associated with only stride length variability and mediolateral trunk sway during performance of animal naming as the dual task. Memory was not associated with the gait and balance variables. CONCLUSIONS: In community-living elderly people, executive functions are associated with gait and balance impairment during a challenging dual-task condition that also depends on executive integrity. Next steps will be to explore the value of executive functions in defining fall-risk profiles and in fall-prevention interventions for frail patients.

The effect of cognitive dual tasks on balance during walking in physically fit elderly people.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect on balance of 3 different cognitive dual tasks performed while walking without and with standardization for gait velocity, and measured with both foot placements and trunk movements. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-nine physically fit elderly people (mean age, 73.5y). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Stride length and time variability measured with an electronic walkway, body sway measured with an angular velocity instrument, and gait velocity. RESULTS: Overall, dual tasks resulted in decreased gait velocity (1.46 to 1.23m/s, P<.001), increased stride length (1.4% to 2.6%), and time variability (1.3% to 2.3%) (P<.001), and had no significant effect on body sway. After standardization for gait velocity, the dual tasks were associated with increased body sway (111% to 216% of values during walking without dual task, P<.001) and increased stride length and time variability (41% to 223% increase, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: In physically fit elderly people, cognitive dual tasks influence balance control during walking directly as well as indirectly through decreased gait velocity. Dual tasks increase stride variability with both mechanisms, but the increase in body sway is only visible after standardization for gait velocity. The decreased gait velocity can be a strategy with which to maintain balance during walking in more difficult circumstances.

A method to standardize gait and balance variables for gait velocity.

Many gait and balance variables depend on gait velocity, which seriously hinders the interpretation of gait and balance data derived from walks at different velocities. However, as far as we know there is no widely accepted method to correct for effects of gait velocity on other gait and balance measures. We developed a simple statistical method to obtain gait and balance variables for each participant that are independent of gait velocity. The first step of our standardization method was the transformation of the gait and balance data to obtain a normal distribution and decrease the influence of outliers. Thereafter, we constructed a formula, based on regression analysis that described how these data varied with gait velocity in each participant during walking without an additional task. Last, this formula was used to standardize the gait and balance data for the effect of gait velocity for each individual participant. As example we present the analysis of mediolateral displacements of the trunk in fit elderly people during walking with and without a dual task.

Antipsychotics for behavioural and psychological problems in elderly people with dementia: a systematic review of adverse events.

OBJECTIVE: Although antipsychotics are important in the treatment of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), they have moderate efficacy and often cause adverse events. Recent safety warnings about increased frequency of cerebrovascular adverse events in elderly patients who use atypical antipsychotics mean that physicians now face a dilemma when weighing the benefits and risks of use of antipsychotics in this patient group. This study systematically reviews the reporting of adverse events of antipsychotics used to treat BPSD in randomised, controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychInfo and CINAHL databases (search period 1980 or 1986-April 2005) and the Cochrane controlled trials register (2005) for RCTs that used intention-to-treat analysis to evaluate the efficacy and harms of antipsychotics used to treat BPSD. Two independent reviewers assessed the reporting of adverse events. RESULTS: Screening of 930 abstracts identified 12 eligible RCTs (2809 patients). Most participants were elderly people (mean age 80 years) with Alzheimer's, vascular or mixed dementia. Studies lasted from 3 to 16 weeks. Adverse events, though common, were described heterogeneously and incompletely. No RCT fulfilled all Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials requirements for the reporting of harms. Atypical antipsychotics caused fewer extrapyramidal symptoms and less somnolence than typical antipsychotics, but these differences disappeared when dosages were increased. Only one trial reported cerebrovascular adverse events, with a number needed to harm of 14 (95% CI 8, 41). CONCLUSIONS: At lower doses atypical antipsychotics may cause fewer adverse events in the treatment of BPSD, but there is uncertainty about their cerebrovascular safety profile. The RCTs included in this systematic review described adverse events too incompletely and heterogeneously to allow generation of clear treatment recommendations, and they do not provide sufficient evidence to support recent safety warnings. Better reporting on harms in RCTs is needed to enable rational treatment decisions with respect to use of antipsychotics for BPSD.

What is a waddling gait?

PURPOSE: A patient's gait can provide important diagnostic and functional information. Though 'waddling gait' is a long-established concept, we question whether this description is precise or clinically useful. METHODS: We searched 'waddling gait' in all main medical specialties core textbooks, in animal locomotion books and in Medline, Healthstar and Embase. Further we obtained expert advice on the gait of ducks. RESULTS: Many names are used for 'waddling gait', and its description is imprecise and inconsistent. Trendelenburg described it as a pelvic drop on the side of the swinging leg and compensatory lateral trunk bending towards the side of the standing leg. Many conditions have been described as producing a waddling gait. We accepted the gait pattern of ducks as being true waddling. This often-used comparison does not accurately reflect the gait pattern seen in humans with a range of medical disorders; nor is it the same as a Trendelenburg gait. CONCLUSIONS: As we have found no condition in which patients have a truly duck-like gait, we propose that the phrase 'waddling gait' should be abandoned. We suggest that for clarity and good communication, clinicians should describe the observed elements of the gait rather than using imprecise and unhelpful terms such as 'waddling gait'.

Is stair negotiation measured appropriately in functional assessment scales?

BACKGROUND: A decline in mobility may result in problems with the negotiation of stairs, which can potentially be hazardous. In practice, stair negotiation is an important aspect of daily living and therefore needs to be assessed carefully. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review to identify the way functional assessment scales assess stair negotiation. We evaluated whether stair negotiation could be assessed in a valid and reliable way with these scales. RESULTS: Forty-three of the 92 identified scales have an item on stair negotiation. In these scales, the definition of 'negotiation of stairs' varies, as does the definition of independence. Important aspects such as safety on stairs are missing from all scales. In contrast to older scales, newer scales consist of items that have been tested for validity and reliability. In none of the scales was the stair negotiation item tested separately for validity. Only two scales examined test-retest reliability and only one measured inter-observer agreement. DISCUSSION: In current functional assessment scales stair negotiation is measured with great heterogeneity and insufficient validity. In patients and in studies in which assessment of stair negotiation ability is a key part of functional assessment, an improved, well-validated scale is needed. This scale should include not only the subject's physical ability to negotiate stairs, but also safety and change in ability over time.