The Effect of a Smartphone App with an Accelerometer on the Physical Activity Behavior of Hospitalized Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Inactive behavior is common in hospitalized patients. This study investigated the effectiveness of using a smartphone app with an accelerometer (Hospital Fit) in addition to usual care physiotherapy on increasing patients' physical activity (PA) behavior. A randomized controlled trial was performed at Maastricht University Medical Centre. Patients receiving physiotherapy while hospitalized at the department of Pulmonology or Internal Medicine were randomized to usual care physiotherapy or using Hospital Fit additionally. Daily time spent walking, standing, and upright (standing/walking) (min) and daily number of postural transitions were measured with an accelerometer between the first and last treatment. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the association between PA behavior and Hospital Fit use, corrected for functional independence (mILAS). Seventy-eight patients were included with a median (IQR) age of 63 (56-68) years. Although no significant effects were found, a trend was seen in favor of Hospital Fit. Effects increased with length of use. Corrected for functional independence, Hospital Fit use resulted in an average increase of 27.4 min (95% CI: -2.4-57.3) standing/walking on day five and 29.2 min (95% CI: -6.4-64.7) on day six compared to usual care. Hospital Fit appears valuable in increasing PA in functionally independent patients.

Bedside palliative care and geriatric consultations: adherence rate in hospitalised patients.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the adherence rate of recommendations of a palliative consultation team (PCT) and a geriatric consultation team (GCT). Secondary aims were to investigate which factors and/or recommendation characteristics influence adherence rates. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was performed in the Maastricht University Medical Center+ in the Netherlands and included hospitalised patients who received a consultation by the PCT or the GCT. Baseline data on consultations were collected for the total population and for the GCT and PCT separately. The adherence rate of the recommendations was evaluated by checking evidence of implementation. The nature of recommendations given (solicited or unsolicited) was documented per domain (somatic, psychological/cognitive, social, spiritual, functional, and existential). The association with adherence was evaluated for solicited and unsolicited recommendations separately. Exploration of potentially associated factors was performed using OpenEpi. RESULTS: Overall, 507 consultations of individual patients were performed (n=131) by the GCT and (n=376) by the PCT. Most recommendations given were solicited (865/1201=72%). Over 80% of both solicited and unsolicited recommendations were implemented in the majority of domains. No potentially modifiable factors associated with the adherence of the advices were found. CONCLUSIONS: The overall adherence rate of the GCT and PCT consultations was high. In addition, in certain domains, many recommendations were unsolicited. However, also the majority of these recommendations were implemented.

Development and internal validation of a prediction model to identify older adults at risk of low physical activity levels during hospitalisation: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Inactive behaviour is common in older adults during hospitalisation and associated with poor health outcomes. If patients at high risk of spending little time standing/walking could be identified early after admission, they could be given interventions aimed at increasing their time spent standing/walking. This study aims to identify older adults at high risk of low physical activity (PA) levels during hospitalisation. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of 165 older adults (≥ 70 years) admitted to the department of Internal Medicine of Maastricht University Medical Centre for acute medical illness. Two prediction models were developed to predict the probability of low PA levels during hospitalisation. Time spent standing/walking per day was measured with an accelerometer until discharge (≤ 12 days). The average time standing/walking per day between inclusion and discharge was dichotomized into low/high PA levels by dividing the cohort at the median (50.0%) in model 1, and lowest tertile (33.3%) in model 2. Potential predictors-Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care (AM-PAC), age, sex, walking aid use, and disabilities in activities of daily living-were selected based on literature and analysed using logistic regression analysis. Models were internally validated using bootstrapping. Model performance was quantified using measures of discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)) and calibration (Hosmer and Lemeshow (H-L) goodness-of-fit test and calibration plots). RESULTS: Model 1 predicts a probability of spending ≤ 64.4 min standing/walking and holds the predictors SPPB, AM-PAC and sex. Model 2 predicts a probability of spending ≤ 47.2 min standing/walking and holds the predictors SPPB, AM-PAC, age and walking aid use. AUCs of models 1 and 2 were .80 (95% confidence interval (CI) = .73-.87) and .86 (95%CI = .79-.92), respectively, indicating good discriminative ability. Both models demonstrate near perfect calibration of the predicted probabilities and good overall performance, with model 2 performing slightly better. CONCLUSIONS: The developed and internally validated prediction models may enable clinicians to identify older adults at high risk of low PA levels during hospitalisation. External validation and determining the clinical impact are needed before applying the models in clinical practise.

Barriers and enablers to physical activity behaviour in older adults during hospital stay: a qualitative study guided by the theoretical domains framework.

BACKGROUND: Older adults admitted with an acute medical illness spent little time active during hospitalisation and this has been associated with negative health outcomes. Understanding which barriers and enablers influence the physical activity behaviour of hospitalised older adults is a first step towards identifying potentially modifiable factors and developing, evaluating and implementing targeted interventions aimed at increasing their physical activity behaviour. Using a theoretical framework has been found to be more successful in changing behaviour than using a non-theory driven approach. This study aimed to explore barriers and enablers to physical activity behaviour in older adults admitted to a hospital with an acute medical illness, as perceived by patients and healthcare professionals, and to categorise them using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted at a combined university and regional hospital in the Netherlands between January 2019 and February 2020. Older adults (≥70 years) admitted with an acute medical illness, and healthcare professionals (nurses, physicians, physiotherapists) were recruited using purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed using directed qualitative content analysis. Barriers and enablers to physical activity behaviour during hospitalisation were identified and coded using the TDF. RESULTS: Meaning saturation was determined after interviews with 12 patients and 16 healthcare professionals. A large number of barriers and enablers were identified and each categorised to 11 of the 14 domains of the TDF. The 'Environmental Context and Resources' domain in particular yielded many examples, and revealed that the hospital environment exerts an inactivating influence on patients. CONCLUSIONS: The large number of identified barriers and enablers highlights the complexity of influencing older adults' physical activity behaviour during hospitalisation. This overview of barriers and enablers to physical activity behaviour in older adults admitted to a hospital with an acute medical illness represents an initial step towards developing, evaluating and implementing theory-informed behaviour change interventions to improve hospitalised older adults' physical activity levels. It can assist clinicians and researchers in selecting modifiable factors that can be targeted in future interventions.

Mortality in hip fracture patients after implementation of a nurse practitioner-led orthogeriatric care program: results of a 1-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Hip fractures are a major cause of mortality and disability in frail older adults. Therefore, orthogeriatrics has been embraced to improve patient outcomes. With the optimal template of orthogeriatric care still unknown, and to curtail rising healthcare expenditure we implemented a nurse practitioner-led orthogeriatric care program (NPOCP). The objective was to evaluate NPOCP by measuring 3-month and 1-year mortality, compared to usual care (UC). In addition, length of stay (LOS) and location of hospital discharge were reported. METHODS: An anonymised data set, of hip fracture patients (n = 300) who presented to Maastricht University Medical Centre, the Netherlands, a level-1 trauma centre, was used. NPOCP was implemented on one of two surgical wards, while the other ward received UC. Patient allocation to these wards was random. RESULTS: In total, 144 patients received NPOCP and 156 received UC. In the NPOCP, 3-month and 1-year mortality rates were 9.0% and 13.9%, compared to 24.4% and 34.0% in the UC group (P < 0.001). The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for 3-month (aHR 0.50 [95%CI: 0.26-0.97]) and 1-year mortality (aHR 0.50 [95%CI: 0.29-0.85]) remained lower in NPOCP compared to UC. Median LOS was 9 days [IQR 5-13] in patients receiving UC and 7 days [IQR 5-13] in patients receiving NPOCP (P = 0.08). Thirty-eight (27.5%) patients receiving UC and fifty-seven (40.4%) patients receiving NPOCP were discharged home (P = 0.023). CONCLUSION: Implementation of NPOCP was associated with significantly reduced mortality in hip fracture patients and may contribute positively to high-quality care and improve outcomes in the frail orthogeriatric population.

Added Value of Early Consultation of an Inpatient Palliative Care Team in Hospitalized Older Patients With High Symptom Burden: A Prospective Comparative Study.

BACKGROUND: It is estimated that in 2050 one quarter of the population in Europe will be aged 65 years and older. Although the added value of a palliative care team is emphasized in the literature, the impact of the palliative care team on the symptom burden in older non-cancer patients is not yet well established. OBJECTIVES: To structurally measure symptoms and to investigate whether proactive consultation with a palliative care team results in improvement of symptoms. DESIGN: This study has a prospective comparative design. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Older patients, admitted to a Dutch University Medical Centre for who a health care professional had a negative response to the Surprise Question, were selected. MEASUREMENTS, RESULTS: In period one, 59 patients completed the Utrecht Symptom Diary (USD) at day one of admission and after 7 days. In period 2 (n = 60), the same procedure was followed; additionally, the palliative care team was consulted for patients with high USD-scores. Significant improvement on the USD Total Distress Score (TSDS) was observed in both groups without a difference between the 2 periods. This study showed an association between consultation of the palliative care team and improvement on USD TSDS (adjusted odds ratio: 4.9; 95% confidence interval: 1.816-13.198), despite low follow-up rate of advices (approximately 50%). CONCLUSIONS: This study emphasizes the importance of creating awareness for consulting the palliative care team. Further research should focus on assessing the reason behind the low follow-up rate of the advice given and understanding the specific advices contributing to symptom improvement.

Development and Evaluation of a Clinic for Elderly Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Multimorbidity: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: Integrating patient's and physician's goals, especially in elderly patients with multimorbidity, might ultimately improve care. Efforts to develop such care innovations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are lacking. The objective of our study was to develop and to pilot test a clinic for elderly patients with RA and multimorbidity. METHODS: First, a referral strategy for and the content of an Elderly Multimorbidity Clinic (EMC) was developed. Next, the EMC was implemented, and it primarily focused on the personal goals of patients and medication review. The EMC was evaluated in a quantitative-qualitative approach. RESULTS: Referral considered useful by the rheumatologist was chosen as the referral criterion. A rheumatologist and internist-geriatrician provided care to referred patients (≥ 55 years) at the EMC during three visits over 1 year. Twenty patients with RA participated in the pilot study (mean age 76.8±7.7 years; 30% male). Only 12 (60%) patients attended the first follow-up consultation, and three (15%) attended the second follow-up consultation. During any follow-up visit, 9/12 (75%) patients achieved one or more goals. Examples of accomplished goals were reduction of medication and improvement of mobility. In 19/20 (95%) patients, medication was remediated (stop medication for 13 patients; start medication for five patients) during the first visit. After 1 year, medication was changed back in 10 patients. Rheumatologists revealed uncertainty about meaningful referral, and patients and rheumatologists mentioned high (caregiver) burden because of extra visits as reasons for not attending follow-up. Patients were satisfied with the care provided. CONCLUSION: This goal-directed EMC led to the accomplishment of at least one goal in 75% of patients. Sustained benefits could not be demonstrated because of low follow-up.

The prevalence of pulmonary embolism in patients with COVID-19 and respiratory decline: A three-setting comparison.

BACKGROUND: The risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is recognized. The prevalence of PE in patients with respiratory deterioration at the Emergency Department (ED), the regular ward, and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are not well-established. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate how often PE was present in individuals with COVID-19 and respiratory deterioration in different settings, and whether or not disease severity as measured by CT-severity score (CTSS) was related to the occurrence of PE. PATIENTS/METHODS: Between April 6th and May 3rd, we enrolled 60 consecutive adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 from the ED, regular ward and ICU who met the pre-specified criteria for respiratory deterioration. RESULTS: A total of 24 (24/60: 40% (95% CI: 28-54%)) patients were diagnosed with PE, of whom 6 were in the ED (6/23: 26% (95% CI: 10-46%)), 8 in the regular ward (8/24: 33% (95% CI: 16-55%)), and 10 in the ICU (10/13: 77% (95% CI: 46-95%)). CTSS (per unit) was not associated with the occurrence of PE (age and sex-adjusted OR 1.06 (95%CI 0.98-1.15)). CONCLUSION: The number of PE diagnosis among patients with COVID-19 and respiratory deterioration was high; 26% in the ED, 33% in the regular ward and 77% in the ICU respectively. In our cohort CTSS was not associated with the occurrence of PE. Based on the high number of patients diagnosed with PE among those scanned we recommend a low threshold for performing computed tomography angiography in patients with COVID-19 and respiratory deterioration.

Mortality and the Use of Antithrombotic Therapies Among Nursing Home Residents with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Nursing home (NH) residents are a vulnerable population, susceptible to respiratory disease outbreaks such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Poor outcome in COVID-19 is at least partly attributed to hypercoagulability, resulting in a high incidence of thromboembolic complications. It is unknown whether commonly used antithrombotic therapies may protect the vulnerable NH population with COVID-19 against mortality. This study aimed to investigate whether the use of oral antithrombotic therapy (OAT) was associated with a lower mortality in NH residents with COVID-19. DESIGN: A retrospective case series. SETTING: Fourteen NH facilities from the NH organization Envida, Maastricht, the Netherlands PARTICIPANTS: A total of 101 NH residents with COVID-19 were enrolled. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. The association between age, sex, comorbidity, OAT, and mortality was assessed using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Overall mortality was 47.5% in NH residents from 14 NH facilities. Age, comorbidity, and medication use were comparable among NH residents who survived and who died. OAT was associated with a lower mortality in NH residents with COVID-19 in the univariable analysis (odds ratio (OR) = 0.89; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.41-1.95). However, additional adjustments for sex, age, and comorbidity attenuated this difference. Mortality in males was higher compared with female residents (OR = 3.96; 95% CI = 1.62-9.65). Male residents who died were younger compared with female residents (82.2 (standard deviation (SD) = 6.3) vs 89.1 (SD = 6.8) years; P < .001). CONCLUSION: NH residents in the 14 facilities we studied were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a mortality of 47.5%. Male NH residents with COVID-19 had worse outcomes than females. We did not find evidence for any protection against mortality by OAT, necessitating further research into strategies to mitigate poor outcome of COVID-19 in vulnerable NH populations. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1647-1652, 2020.

Frailty screening in hospitalised older adults: How does the brief Dutch National Safety Management Program perform compared to a more extensive approach?

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To examine the predictive properties of the brief Dutch National Safety Management Program for the screening of frail hospitalised older patients (VMS) and to compare these with the more extensive Maastricht Frailty Screening Tool for Hospitalised Patients (MFST-HP). BACKGROUND: Screening of older patients during admission may help to detect frailty and underlying geriatric conditions. The VMS screening assesses patients on four domains (i.e. functional decline, delirium risk, fall risk and nutrition). The 15-item MFST-HP assesses patients on three domains of frailty (physical, social and psychological). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Data of 2,573 hospitalised patients (70+) admitted in 2013 were included, and relative risks, sensitivity and specificity and area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) curve of the two tools were calculated for discharge destination, readmissions and mortality. The data were derived from the patients nursing files. A STARD checklist was completed. RESULTS: Different proportions of frail patients were identified by means of both tools: 1,369 (53.2%) based on the VMS and 414 (16.1%) based on the MFST-HP. The specificity was low for the VMS, and the sensitivity was low for the MFST-HP. The overall AUC for the VMS varied from 0.50 to 0.76 and from 0.49 to 0.69 for the MFST-HP. CONCLUSION: The predictive properties of the VMS and the more extended MFST-HP on the screening of frailty among older hospitalised patients are poor to moderate and not very promising. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The VMS labels a high proportion of older patients as potentially frail, while the MFST-HP labels over 80% as nonfrail. An extended tool did not increase the predictive ability of the VMS. However, information derived from the individual items of the screening tools may help nurses in daily practice to intervene on potential geriatric risks such as delirium risk or fall risk.

Unplanned readmissions in younger and older adult patients: the role of healthcare-related adverse events.

BACKGROUND: Readmissions are a burden for patients and increase healthcare costs. In Europe, factors associated with readmissions have not yet been extensively investigated. This study aimed to discover factors associated with readmissions in both young and older adult internal medicine patients. Furthermore, we explored the role of healthcare-related adverse events (AEs) in readmissions. METHODS: All patients admitted through the emergency department to the internal medicine department in the last 2 weeks of each month (2011) were included. Information on index admissions and readmissions, defined as an unplanned admission within 30 days after discharge, was obtained from the electronic patient record system. Demographic, clinical, and organizational factors were evaluated for their association with readmissions. RESULTS: Of all patients (n = 940), 17.3 % were readmitted; 16.9 % of the younger (<65 years, n = 485), and 17.8 % of the older patients (≥65 years, n = 455). Dependency in activities of daily living (ADL) was the only factor associated with readmissions in both all ages (OR 2.43) and in older patients (OR 3.19), while age was associated with readmissions in younger patients (OR 1.03 per year). AEs leading to 35.4 % of all index admissions were not associated with readmissions. CONCLUSIONS: Readmissions are common in medical patients, and, thus, remain a reason for concern in terms of patient safety and quality of care. AEs, responsible for to the index admission, were not associated with readmissions. ADL dependency was the only factor associated with readmission in patients of all ages and older patients, indicating that determining which patients are at risk for readmissions is not easy.

Health-care-related adverse events leading to admission in older individuals: incidence, predictive factors and consequences.

BACKGROUND: Older individuals are particularly prone to suffer health-care-related adverse events (AEs); they often have more comorbidity and, thus, require more health-care. Since our society is ageing, insight into AEs leading to hospital admissions is necessary. We aimed to assess the incidence, predictive factors and consequences of AEs leading to admission in older individuals. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of all older patients (≥65 years) who were admitted through the emergency department (ED) to the department of internal medicine in the last week of every month in 2011. We retrieved the incidence and possible predictive factors for AEs leading to admission and mortality (both in-hospital and within 28 days after discharge). The control group consisted of older patients admitted because of other reasons. RESULTS: In the study period, there were 262 admissions, of which 106 (40.5%) were because of an AE. The most common AE was medication-related (55.7%). Predictive factors of admission because of an AE were the number of medications used [odds ratio (OR) 1.16 per medication, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.08-1.25] and dependency in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.14-0.91). Both in-hospital mortality and mortality within 28 days after discharge were lower in the AE group (5.7% vs. 16.0%, P = 0.01, and 0 vs. 6.9%, P < 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION: Admissions through the ED to the department of internal medicine of older patients are often because of AEs (40.5%), with medication use being the greatest culprit. Surprisingly, mortality was lower in the AE group. The number of medications used (positive) and IADL dependency (negative) were predictive factors for being admitted because of an AE.

Acute Hospital Admissions Because of Health Care-Related Adverse Events: A Retrospective Study of 5 Specialist Departments.

BACKGROUND: Health care-related adverse events (HCRAEs), which should not be confused with (blameworthy) medical errors, are common; they can lead to hospital admissions and can have grave consequences. Although they are sometimes potentially preventable, information is lacking on HCRAEs leading to admission to different departments. AIM: This study aimed to gain insight into the incidence, type, severity, and preventability of HCRAEs (including adverse drug events) leading to hospitalization to the departments of internal medicine, surgery, orthopedics, neurology, and neurosurgery. Further, we explore if there are differences regarding these HCRAEs between these departments. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of all patients admitted through the emergency department (ED) in a 6-month period to the departments of internal medicine, surgery, orthopedics, neurology, and neurosurgery. All patients admitted because of HCRAEs were included. RESULTS: More than one-fifth (21.8%; range 12.0%-47.8%) of all admissions to the 5 departments were due to a HCRAE. Half (49.9%) of these HCRAEs were medication-related and 30.5% were procedure-related. In 6.5% of patients, the HCRAE led to permanent disability and another 4.4% of patients died during hospitalization. HCRAEs treated by internists and neurologists were usually medication-related, whereas HCRAEs treated by surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, and neurosurgeons were usually procedure-related. CONCLUSION: Hospital admissions to different departments are often caused by HCRAEs, which sometimes lead to permanent disability or even death. Gaining insight into similarities and differences in HCRAEs occurring in different specialties is a starting point for improving clinical outcomes.

[Treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients]. / Behandeling van doorbraakpijn bij kanker.

Pain is common in patients with cancer (33-64%) and can be divided into background and breakthrough pain (BTP). BTP is a passing, acute pain that occurs despite the use of analgesia to control background pain. BTP may arise spontaneously or be provoked by certain movements or activities. It lasts 30-60 minutes and is generally self-limiting and is often undertreated. We describe 2 patients aged 68 and 57 years with metastatic disease who were admitted for pain management. BTP was inadequately managed during their hospital stay. Both patients had to wait too long before they received their BTP medication, causing the BTP to have passed its peak. After consultation with their nurses, both patients were allowed to have one dose of breakthrough medication in advance, which resulted in better treatment of their BTP. Every hospitalized patient with BTP should have one dose of breakthrough medication ready for taking in advance.