The role of Dutch guidelines in the diagnostic outcomes and treatment decisions of hospitalised older adults with a suspected urinary tract infection: a retrospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are highly prevalent and difficult to diagnose in older adults. We aimed to evaluate the applicability of Dutch Association of Urology (NVU) and Dutch Association of Elderly Care Physicians (Verenso) guidelines in terms of diagnostic outcomes and treatment decisions in hospitalised older adults with suspected UTIs. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 225 geriatric patients with a urine culture taken in 2019, to determine conformity of the studied population to NVU and Verenso. RESULTS: Of 225 patients with suspected UTI (mean age 86 years; 56.4% female), 67.6% had urinary tract-related symptoms, of whom 96 received antibiotics, including those with a negative urine dipstick (n = 12) or urine culture (n = 28). Hundred seventy-seven and 147 patients were assessed and treated conforming to the NVU and Verenso guidelines, respectively. The 38 patients who were assessed and treated non-conforming to NVU, including patients with negative urine diagnostics, received antibiotics more often compared with 177 patients treated conforming to NVU (p < 0.001). A large number of patients with negative urine tests were treated conforming to Verenso and antibiotics were withheld in 75.5% of the patients. The non-conforming Verenso-treated patients with prescribed antibiotics had significantly more negative dipstick results (p = 0.05), fewer urinary tract-related symptoms (p < 0.001) and more often a different infectious focus (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The common practice performed on the studied geriatric population was more in accordance with the NVU guideline than Verenso. The results indicated that compliance with the guidelines might lead to fewer antibiotic prescriptions in the study population.

The Cognitive-Functional Composite is sensitive to clinical progression in early dementia: Longitudinal findings from the Catch-Cog study cohort.

INTRODUCTION: In an attempt to capture clinically meaningful cognitive decline in early dementia, we developed the Cognitive-Functional Composite (CFC). We investigated the CFC's sensitivity to decline in comparison to traditional clinical endpoints. METHODS: This longitudinal construct validation study included 148 participants with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, or mild dementia. The CFC and traditional tests were administered at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. Sensitivity to change was investigated using linear mixed models and r 2 effect sizes. RESULTS: CFC scores declined over time (ß = -.16, P < .001), with steepest decline observed in mild Alzheimer's dementia (ß = -.25, P < .001). The CFC showed medium-to-large effect sizes at succeeding follow-up points (r 2 = .08-.42), exhibiting greater change than the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (r 2 = .02-.12). Moreover, change on the CFC was significantly associated with informant reports of cognitive decline (ß = .38, P < .001). DISCUSSION: By showing sensitivity to decline, the CFC could enhance the monitoring of disease progression in dementia research and clinical practice.

Assessing cognition and daily function in early dementia using the cognitive-functional composite: findings from the Catch-Cog study cohort.

BACKGROUND: The cognitive-functional composite (CFC) was designed to improve the measurement of clinically relevant changes in predementia and early dementia stages. We have previously demonstrated its good test-retest reliability and feasibility of use. The current study aimed to evaluate several quality aspects of the CFC, including construct validity, clinical relevance, and suitability for the target population. METHODS: Baseline data of the Capturing Changes in Cognition study was used: an international, prospective cohort study including participants with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). The CFC comprises seven existing cognitive tests focusing on memory and executive functions (EF) and the informant-based Amsterdam Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (A-IADL-Q). Construct validity and clinical relevance were assessed by (1) confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) using all CFC subtests and (2) linear regression analyses relating the CFC score (independent) to reference measures of disease severity (dependent), correcting for age, sex, and education. To assess the suitability for the target population, we compared score distributions of the CFC to those of traditional tests (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale, Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living scale, and Clinical Dementia Rating scale). RESULTS: A total of 184 participants were included (age 71.8 ± 8.4; 42% female; n = 14 SCD, n = 80 MCI, n = 78 AD, and n = 12 DLB). CFA showed that the hypothesized three-factor model (memory, EF, and IADL) had adequate fit (CFI = .931, RMSEA = .091, SRMR = .06). Moreover, worse CFC performance was associated with more cognitive decline as reported by the informant (ß = .61, p < .001), poorer quality of life (ß = .51, p < .001), higher caregiver burden (ß = - .51, p < .001), more apathy (ß = - .36, p < .001), and less cortical volume (ß = .34, p = .02). Whilst correlations between the CFC and traditional measures were moderate to strong (ranging from - .65 to .83, all p < .001), histograms showed floor and ceiling effects for the traditional tests as compared to the CFC. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings illustrate that the CFC has good construct validity, captures clinically relevant aspects of disease severity, and shows no range restrictions in scoring. It therefore provides a more useful outcome measure than traditional tests to evaluate cognition and function in MCI and mild AD.

Current awareness of delirium in the intensive care unit: a postal survey in the Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: Delirium in the ICU can compromise the recovery process, prolong ICU and hospital stay and increase mortality. Therefore, recognition of delirium is of utmost importance. METHODS: To ascertain current attitude pertaining to delirium in critically ill patients a simple questionnaire was sent to all intensive care units (ICUs) throughout the Netherlands. RESULTS: Seventy-five questionnaires were sent and 44 returned. A delirium protocol was present in the majority of cases (n=35, 80%), although implementation had occurred in only 22 ICUs (50%). The reported general incidence of delirium varied widely (25% of ventilated patients (n=33, 75%) and in patients older than 70 (n=38, 86%). Most participating centres reported that they could certainly (n=9, 20%) or most certainly (n=22, 50%) identify delirium. A geriatrician or a psychiatrist predominantly diagnosed delirium (n=30, 68%), while a diagnostic instrument such as the CAM -ICU was used in a minority of cases (n=11, 25%). A geriatrician or a psychiatrist was consulted when patients were agitated (n=40, 90%), or when routine pharmacological treatment had failed (n=40, 91%). CONCLUSION: In the Netherlands, delirium is considered an important problem in the ICU, although its incidence is estimated to be low by the ICU team. The diagnosis of delirium is most frequently established by a geriatrician or psychiatrist after consultation, while diagnostic instruments are infrequently used. Efforts should be undertaken to implement delirium protocols and a routinely applied diagnostic instrument in the ICU.

[A systematic review of multifactorial interventions for primary prevention of delirium in the elderly]. / Een systematisch overzicht van multifactoriële interventies ter primaire preventie van delier bij ouderen.

Delirium is a severe psychiatric syndrome that is highly prevalent in elderly patients in a general hospital. Primary prevention is important to prevent delirium. This article reviews recent developments with regard to multifactorial intervention trials for primary prevention of delirium. The review process involved a systematic search in MEDLINE, The Cochrane Database and CINAHL Database and subsequent examination of reference lists. Six studies were selected. Four studies showed that systemic interventions regarding medical-, nurse-led, environmental-, and educational items, were effective in preventing delirium. In one study a reduction was found in duration and severity of duration only. One study showed no effect on delirium at all. Despite the methodological weaknesses of the studies, conclusions are that different kinds of non-pharmacological interventions can be effective in preventing delirium.