Level of Medical Intervention in Geriatric Settings: Decision Factors and Correlation With Mortality.

OBJECTIVES: Level of medical intervention (LMI) has to be adapted to each patient in geriatric care. LMI scales intend to help nonintensive care (NIC) decisions, giving priority to patient choice and collegial discussion. In the present study, we aimed to assess the parameters associated with the NIC decision and whether these parameters differ from those associated with in-hospital mortality. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: All consecutive patients from a French 62-bed acute geriatric unit over 1 year. METHODS: Factors from the geriatric assessment associated with the decision of NIC were compared with those associated with in-hospital and 1-year mortality, in univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: In total, 1654 consecutive patients (median age 87 years) were included. Collegial reflection led to NIC decision for 532 patients (32%). In-hospital and 1-year mortality were 22% and 54% in the NIC group vs 2% and 27% in the rest of the cohort (P < .001 for both). In multivariable analysis, high Charlson Comorbidity Index [odds ratio (OR) 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.23, per point], severe neurocognitive disorders (OR 2.78, 95% CI 1.67-4.55), dependence (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.45-2.59), and nursing home residence (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.85-3.13) were highly associated with NIC decision but not with in-hospital mortality. Conversely, acute diseases had little impact on LMI despite their high short-term prognostic burden. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Neurocognitive disorders and dependence were strongly associated with NIC decision, even though they were not significantly associated with in-hospital mortality. The decision-making process of LMI therefore seems to go beyond the notion of short-term survival.

Impact of a Diagnosis-Centered Antibiotic Stewardship on Incident Clostridioides difficile Infections in Older Inpatients: An Observational Study.

In 2015, a major increase in incident hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile infections (HO-CDI) in a geriatric university hospital led to the implementation of a diagnosis-centered antibiotic stewardship program (ASP). We aimed to evaluate the impact of the ASP on antibiotic consumption and on HO-CDI incidence. The intervention was the arrival of a full-time infectiologist in the acute geriatric unit in May 2015, followed by the implementation of new diagnostic procedures for infections associated with an antibiotic withdrawal policy. Between 2015 and 2018, the ASP was associated with a major reduction in diagnoses for inpatients (23% to 13% for pneumonia, 24% to 13% for urinary tract infection), while median hospital stays and mortality rates remained stable. The reduction in diagnosed bacterial infections was associated with a 45% decrease in antibiotic consumption in the acute geriatric unit. HO-CDI incidence also decreased dramatically from 1.4‱ bed-days to 0.8‱ bed-days in the geriatric rehabilitation unit. The ASP focused on reducing the overdiagnosis of bacterial infections in the acute geriatric unit was successfully associated with both a reduction in antibiotic use and a clear reduction in the incidence of HO-CDI in the geriatric rehabilitation unit.

Potentially inappropriate use of furosemide in a very elderly population: An observational study.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about furosemide prescription modalities in elderly people. We describe furosemide prescription in ambulatory elderly patients. METHODS: All patients aged over 80 years, affiliated to Mutualité Sociale Agricole de Bourgogne, a French regional health insurance plan, with a medical prescription delivered in March 2015, were retrospectively included. RESULTS: Among 15 141 patients with a median age of 86 years, comprising 61.3% of women, 3937 patients (26%) had a prescription for furosemide. Severe heart failure was the most common chronic comorbidity (27.7%). Furosemide was considered a long-term therapy for almost all patients (98.7% with prescriptions for 3 months or more). Recommended indications for long-term furosemide therapy included severe heart failure (50.9%), chronic nephropathy (3%) and cirrhosis (0.1%). The furosemide prescription rate increased with age (81-85: 20.4%, 86-90: 28.5%, 91-95: 35.6%, >95: 42.7%, P<.001), and the increase was associated with a decrease in recommended heart failure therapeutics (beta-blockers, angiotensin-conversion-enzyme-inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor-blockers). Prescribers were mostly general practitioners (81.3%). Plasma electrolytes were controlled in less than a half of the patients with furosemide. CONCLUSIONS: In this large study, long-course furosemide was prescribed in a quarter of ambulatory patients. Half of those taking furosemide suffered from severe heart failure. Age was associated with a linear increase in furosemide use and a decrease in recommended heart failure therapeutic prescriptions. A large part of these prescriptions do not seem to be in accordance with recommendations.

A case of meningitis due to Achromobacter xylosoxidans denitrificans 60 years after a cranial trauma.

BACKGROUND: Achromobacter xylosoxidans (AX) is a non-fermentative aerobic gram-negative bacillus. It is an opportunistic pathogen and the causative agent of various infections. We report an original case of late posttraumatic meningitis due to AX denitrificans. CASE REPORT: An 83-year-old man was hospitalized for acute headache, nausea and vomiting. The emergency brain computer tomography (CT) scan did not reveal any anomaly. In his medical history, there was an auditory injury due to a cranial trauma incurred in a skiing accident 60 years earlier. Cytobiochemical analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) revealed increased levels of neutrophils and proteins. The CSF bacterial culture was positive: the Gram stain showed a gram-negative bacillus, oxidase + and catalase +, and the biochemical pattern using the API 20 NE strip revealed AX dentrificans. Late posttraumatic meningitis on a possible osteomeningeal breach was diagnosed even though the breach was not confirmed because the patient declined a second brain CT scan. The patient was successfully treated with meropenem. CONCLUSIONS: This report demonstrates the importance of searching for unusual or atypical organisms when the clinician encounters meningitis in a particular context, as well as the importance of adequate follow-up of craniofacial traumas.