Palliative Care in New York State Nursing Homes: A Descriptive Study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the current landscape of palliative care (PC) in nursing homes (NHs) in New York State (NYS). MEASUREMENTS: A statewide survey was completed by 149 respondents who named 61 different NHs as their workplace. Questions were related to presence, type, and composition of PC programs; perceptions of PC; barriers to implementing PC; and qualifying medical conditions. RESULTS: Hospice is less available than palliative or comfort care programs, with three-fourths of NYS NH responded providing a PC program. In general, medical directors and physicians were more similar in perspective about the role/impact of PC compared to nursing and others. There was general agreement about the positive impact and role of PC in the NH. Funding and staffing were recognized as barriers to implementing PC. CONCLUSION: There is growing penetration of PC programs in NH facilities in NYS, with good perception of the appropriate utilization of PC programs. Financial reimbursement and staffing are barriers to providing PC in the NH and need to be addressed by the health-care system.

Association between Weight Change, Health Outcomes, and Mortality in Older Residents in Long-Term Care.

OBJECTIVES: Despite the numerous health risks associated with being overweight, the effect of weight loss on health and longevity remains controversial, particularly in older adults. We explored the association among weight changes, health outcomes, and mortality in older residents of a skilled nursing facility. METHODS: A 6-year retrospective chart review of residents of a long-term care facility was conducted, collecting monthly weights in addition to the clinical and demographic data of all residents for at least 1 year. Weight changes of 5% from baseline month 1 through month 12 were classified as stable, loss, or gain. Demographics, body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, number of hospitalizations, and mortality were analyzed. The association between weight change (and other demographic and clinical variables) and mortality outcomes, as well as number of hospitalizations, was assessed using the χ2 test, the Fisher exact test, Poisson regression, or negative binomial regression, as appropriate. RESULTS: A total of 116 residents fit inclusion criteria; the median age was 84 years, with 71.6% being women and 88.7% white. The median length of stay was 877.5 days. Median body weight at baseline was 137.3 lb with a BMI of 23.5. More than one-third (36.2%) of residents had stable weight, 37.9% gained weight, and 25.9% lost weight during their stay. Neither weight change category nor baseline BMI was significantly associated with mortality (P = 0.056 and P = 0.518, respectively). Multivariable models showed that receiving supplementation (P = 0.04) and having hypertension (P = 0.04) were significant predictors of mortality after adjusting for the other factors. Losing >5% body weight (compared with maintaining stable weight; P = 0.0097), being a man (P = 0.0104), receiving a supplement (P = 0.0171), and being fed by tube (P = 0.0004) were associated with an increased number of hospitalizations after covariate adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Weight fluctuation and baseline BMI do not appear to be associated with increased risk of death in residents in a skilled nursing facility. Weight loss was associated with an increased number of hospitalizations, however.

Antithrombotic Therapy Practices in Older Adults Residing in the Long-Term Care Setting.

OBJECTIVES: To explore physician practice patterns with regard to antithrombotic therapy, including antiplatelets and anticoagulants, in long-term care residents and compare resulting embolic complications. METHODS: Conducted between August 2012 and March 2013, this study was a retrospective chart review of 400 residents of a long-term care facility. Electronic charts from October 2005 through January 2013 were selected using systematic random sampling. RESULTS: Approximately one-third of residents (29.6%) received anticoagulants, 27.3% received antiplatelets, 15.8% received both, and 27.3% did not receive any antithrombotic therapy. The most commonly prescribed antithrombotic drugs were aspirin (37.5%) and warfarin (22.1%). The type of antithrombotic therapy was significantly associated with medical history, including deep vein thrombosis (P = 0.03), the presence of atrial fibrillation (P = 0.001) and other nonsurgical medical conditions (P = 0.0001). Weight (P = 0.009) and body mass index (P = 0.007) also were significantly associated with type of antithrombotic therapy, indicating that heavier residents and those with a higher body mass index were more likely to receive both anticoagulants and antiplatelets. There was no difference in the number of embolic complications among groups. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians are more disposed to initiate and maintain residents on aspirin while being more cautious when prescribing anticoagulants such as warfarin, dabigatran, heparin, and enoxaparin. In some residents, anticoagulants were not used at all, even when residents had particular risk factors, demonstrating that at times physicians may err on the side of overcautiousness. Antithrombotic therapy should be individualized for each resident based on bleeding risk, comorbidities, and benefits of a particular therapy for our most vulnerable populations.

Evaluation of housestaff knowledge and perception of competence in palliative symptom management.

PURPOSE: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires that internal medicine (IM) core curricula include end-of-life care and pain management concepts and that fellows in hematology/oncology, pulmonary/critical care, and geriatrics should receive formal instruction and clinical experience in palliative and end-of-life care. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of current teaching methods for housestaff in these fields. METHOD: All of the IM residents, geriatric medicine fellows, hematology/oncology fellows, and pulmonary/critical care fellows from four regional graduate medical education sites were asked to participate in an online survey at the beginning and end of the 2008-2009 academic year. We evaluated seven domains of knowledge of palliative care and pain management with a self-assessment of competence in these areas. We also asked participants to describe their current curriculum and training in palliative medicine. RESULTS: There were 326 e-mailed survey invitations. There were 180 responses for the start-year survey and 102 responses for the end-year survey. All sites were represented in the responses. The only learners to significantly improve their palliative knowledge during a year of training were PGY-1s and PGY-4s. The majority of housestaff surveyed report that their current palliative medicine training is inadequate. The vast majority (84.6%) said a dedicated palliative medicine rotation would be "useful" or "very useful." CONCLUSIONS: Housestaff recognize their lack of experience and training in palliative medicine and are interested in many teaching venues to improve their skills. A more focused curriculum in palliative and end-of-life care is required at both resident and subspecialty fellowship levels.

Olanzapine-induced vasculitis.

INTRODUCTION: Elderly patients are particularly vulnerable to adverse drug reactions as a result of polypharmacy and metabolic changes associated with aging. We present a case of leukocytoclastic vasculitis induced by olanzapine, a medication commonly used in elderly patients. CASE SUMMARY: An 82-year-old woman was admitted to the extended-care center for short-term rehabilitation after prolonged hospitalization for a pulmonary embolism requiring mechanical ventilation. The pulmonary problem resolved, but her hospitalization and subsequent rehabilitation were complicated by agitated delirium, which was treated with olanzapine and modification of contributory factors. At the time of admission to the rehabilitation facility, the patient had been receiving warfarin for 2 weeks and olanzapine for 6 days. On the eighth day after initiation of olanzapine, erythematous skin lesions developed on dependent areas. The international normalized ratio for warfarin was within the acceptable range; however, because warfarin has been associated with subcutaneous bleeding presenting as petechiae and ecchymosis, subcutaneous enoxaparin was substituted for warfarin. The skin lesions continued to worsen over the next week and developed into palpable lesions. Biopsy of the rash revealed leukocytoclastic vasculitis. In the absence of another cause, olanzapine was discontinued and the rash improved significantly. When the agitation recurred, risperidone was initiated, but the patient experienced dizziness with this agent. Olanzapine was resumed and the skin lesions recurred. Olanzapine was then changed to quetiapine, and the skin lesions improved over the next few weeks. DISCUSSION: Olanzapine is commonly used in elderly patients to control behavioral disturbances associated with dementia, delirium, and other psychiatric disorders. Leukocytoclastic vasculitis is an infrequently reported adverse drug reaction with olanzapine. Its exact pathogenic mechanism is unknown, but both cell-mediated and humoral immunity appear to play important roles. Because drug-induced vasculitis has an identical clinical presentation and identical serologic/pathologic parameters to idiopathic forms of vasculitis, a high index of suspicion is necessary for its accurate diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Because adverse drug reactions are common in elderly patients taking multiple medications, physicians should be vigilant when starting new medications and should attempt to eliminate unnecessary medications. Clinicians should be aware of the potential for leukocytoclastic vasculitis in association with olanzapine.