Orthostatic blood pressure drop and cardiovascular and psychotropic medication dosages in acutely ill geriatric inpatients.

OBJECTIVES: . To investigate the dose-response relationship between cardiovascular or psychotropic medication dosages and falling orthostatic blood pressure in geriatric inpatients. METHODS: . This cross-sectional study included 100 consecutive geriatric inpatients of a Belgian hospital. The end points were the maximum changes of systolic (sBP) and diastolic (dBP) blood pressure in a standing up position at one or three minutes. The dosages of six classes of vascular and five classes of psychotropic medications were expressed in terms of a proportion of defined daily doses (DDD). Bivariate and multivariate linear regression models were used. RESULTS: . The 100 geriatric patients (85 ± 5 years, 58 % women) received 7.7 ± 4 medications (mean DDD: vascular = 1.0, psychotropic = 0.74) on the day of an orthostatic test (lying sBP: 136 ± 21; dBP: 72 ± 14 mm Hg). In a standing position, sBP and dBP fell by 12 ± 17 and 11 ± 5 mmHg, respectively. At the individual level, BP change was not correlated with vascular DDD (sBP: p = 0.07, r2 = 0.04; dBP: p = 0.59; r2 = 0.004) nor with psychotropic DDD (sBP: p = 0.14, r2 = 0.02; dBP: p = 0.82; r2 = 0.0). In multivariate analysis, sBP drop was positively associated with age, diabetes, falls history, and number of medications, but not with the DDD of any of the medication classes, while dBP drop was positively associated with age, diabetes, stroke and anaemia, but again with the DDD of any of the medication classes. CONCLUSION: . No correlation was found between vascular and psychotropic medication dosages and the orthostatic blood pressure drop expressed as a continuous variable.

Relating the MNA Mobility Single Item to Usual Walking Speed in Hospitalized and Community-Dwelling Geriatric Patients.

Usual walking speed (WS) is a relatively easy and reproducible tool for detecting mobility impairment. For some reasons, however, geriatric patients might not be able to perform walking tests. Therefore, a subjective assessment could be an alternative method to screen for mobility impairment. In the present paper, we explore the use of the mobility item from the Mini Nutritional Assessment-short form (MNA-sf) to assess mobility and its congruence with walking speed in hospitalized and ambulatory patients. We analyzed retrospective data from 357 patients and found a highly significant correlation between WS and the MNA-sf mobility item. After dichotomization of the MNA-sf mobility score (mobility impairment ≤1 and no impairment >1), AUC for ROC curves showed that the mobility item derived from the MNA-sf reflects fairly well the mobility of geriatric hospitalized patients (AUC = 0.773), while it performs better in ambulatory patients (AUC = 0.838).

[A rare case of hepatotoxicity in geriatrics]. / Un cas rare d'hépatotoxicité en gériatrie.

We report a case of hepatotoxicity following the introduction of two drugs to treat a 81 years old man. The presence of liver alterations following the introduction of a new drug must suggest an adverse drug reaction. Manifestations of adverse drug reactions are often non-specific. Thus, the most important problem in assessing adverse drug reactions is establishing whether there is a causal association between the suspected drug and the untoward clinical event. The use of the Naranjo score could help the clinician to assess the probability of a causal relationship between a drug and the suspected adverse drug reaction.

Nous présentons le cas d'un patient de 81 ans qui développe une hépatotoxité après l'introduction de deux médicaments dans son traitement. La présence d'une perturbation du bilan hépatique à l'introduction d'un nouveau médicament doit faire évoquer une hépatotoxicité médicamenteuse. Les manifestations des effets secondaires médicamenteux ne sont généralement pas spécifiques. Dans ce contexte, le problème le plus important pour le clinicien est d'établir la probabilité d'une relation causale entre l'effet et le médicament suspecté. Le calcul du score de Naranjo permet d'aider le clinicien dans l'évaluation de la probabilité d'une relation causale entre un médicament et la suspicion de l'apparition d'un effet secondaire.

[Appropriate use of psychotropic drugs in institutionalized elderly presenting acute confusional state (delirium)]. / Usage adéquat des psychotropes chez les personnes âgées institutionnalisées en cas d'état confusionnel aigu (delirium).

Delirium (acute confusion) is a common, morbid, and costly geriatric syndrome that affects onethird of hospitalized older adults. As evidence mounts that delirium may persist for weeks to months, concern about delirium can no longer be restricted to acute hospitals. We present a review about non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic management of delirium in institution.

Le " Delirium " (état confusionnel) est un syndrome gériatrique fréquent et coûteux qui affecte un tiers des personnes âgées hospitalisées ; sa prévalence en institution est mal connue. Il apparaît que ce syndrome peut persister pendant des semaines à des mois, et n'est donc pas limité aux hospitalisations aiguës. Nous présentons une revue de la littérature sur la prise en charge du delirium en institution suivie d'une proposition d'algorithme définissant l'approche pharmacologique et non pharmacologique de ce syndrome gériatrique.

[Recognize the frailty: A challenge in general medicine]. / Reconnaître la fragilité : Un défi en Médecine Générale.

Frailty is the most problematic expression of population ageing. It is a state of vulnerability to poor resolution of homoeostasis after a stressor event and is a consequence of cumulative decline in many physiological systems during a lifetime leading to functional dependence. It is before the onset of functional dependence that detection of the frailty by the general practitioner is essential in order to tend to compress morbidity. After an attempt for operational definition of frailty this paper reviews methodological, semantic and logistical pitfalls of screening for frailty in general medicine. The use of frailty would allow general practitioners to introduce early interventions in the care for the older person, thus shifting the care towards a preventive course and thereby reducing the adverse outcomes as well as the public costs.

L'apparition de la fragilité devient l'expression la plus problématique du vieillissement de la population. La fragilité se développe comme une conséquence du déclin lié à l'âge de nombreux systèmes physiologiques qui, ensemble, peuvent provoquer une vulnérabilité responsable de changements soudains dans l'état de santé face à des événements stressants pouvant être mineurs, conduisant le patient dans un état de dépendance fonctionnelle. C'est en amont de ces situations de dépendance fonctionnelle que la détection de la fragilité par le médecin généraliste est primordiale dans le but de tenter de comprimer la morbidité. Après une tentative de définition opérationnelle de la fragilité, cet article revoit les écueils méthodologiques, sémantiques et logistiques du dépistage de la fragilité en médecine générale. L'utilisation du concept de fragilité en médecine générale devrait permettre d' introduire des interventions préventives précoces pour éviter les effets indésirables et les coûts en santé publique.

[Non valvular atrial fibrillation: the place of the new anticoagulants]. / La fibrillation atriale non valvulaire : place des nouveaux anticoagulants.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of mortality and stroke. The prevention of these complications is based on oral anticoagulants that are more efficient than salycilates. As compared with antivitamins K agents, new oral anticoagulants are promising for patients presenting non valvular atrial fibrillation because of lower cerebral hemorragic risk (with respect of assessment of renal function and therapeutic compliance). Available studies and recommendations are presented.

Orthostatic hypotension and associated conditions in geriatric inpatients.

Screening of orthostatic hypotension (OH) was performed in 285 patients aged 75  years. Current drugs, reasons for admission, geriatric syndromes, and confounding medical conditions were collected. Patients with OH (n = 116, 41%) as compared to those without OH (n = 169) more frequently (P < 0.01) presented falls in the last 6  months (62 vs. 40%, P < 0.001), a fall as the reason for the current admission (49 vs. 26%, P < 0.001), feeling of fainting (20 vs. 6%, P = 0.002), syncope (29 vs. 4%, P < 0.001) or functional decline (71 vs. 47%, P = 0.012). No difference was observed between the two groups in terms of age (85 ± 5 vs. 84 ± 4  years), gender (59 vs. 50% female), common geriatric conditions (e.g. malnutrition 46 vs. 58%, dementia 22 vs. 26%), comorbidity or confounding conditions (dehydration 28 vs. 30%, sepsis 2 vs. 6%). No difference was detected in the use of drugs with psychotropic cardiovascular or diuretic effect, or in their associations. Orthostatic hypotension is frequent upon hospital admission and should be screened, particularly in geriatric fallers. This absence of relation between OH and drugs use suggests that non-pharmacological interventions should be first attempted in older inpatients with OH before deciding to reduce or withdraw useful drugs.

Correlates of fractures in elderly, diabetic outpatients.

It is widely recognized that patients presenting diabetes are at increased risk for fractures. In a retrospective case-control study, 101 cases were selected from medical charts of outpatients older than 70 with diabetes mellitus and a fracture within the past 5 years. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) had been measured within 4 months around the assessment. Each case was matched for sex and age with one control, diabetic patient with no fracture. HbA1c level was similar in both groups. Patients with fractures presented significantly lower BMIs than controls, and had a higher rate of declared osteoporosis and comorbidity. A small number of cases were using vitamin D supplements while more were treated with benzodiazepine, opiates and Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). This study suggests that, rather than the tight control of blood glucose, other factors such as medication and comorbidity could be associated with fracture risk in elderly diabetics.

[Anemia in the elderly]. / L'anémie de la personne âgée.

Anaemia is a problem that affects almost 10% over 65 years and 20% over 85 years. There is no physiological anaemia in the elderly. Any anaemia expresses the existence of a pathological process, regardless of its severity. Anaemia in the elderly is always associated with a poor prognosis that is in terms of mortality, morbidity and risk of fragility. The diagnostic approach to anemia in the elderly is the same as in younger individual. There are many causes of anaemia; anaemia balance is a complex diagnostic process. Most anaemias are due to a deficiency, chronic inflammation or comorbidity. However, in the elderly, the etiology of anaemia is often multifactorial. In a number of cases remain unexplained anaemia. In a number of cases, anemia remain unexplained. Treatment of anaemia is the treatment of the cause, but specific therapeutic aspects to the elderly should be considered, as among other martial substitution or use of erythropoietin (EPO).

[Specificities of pneumonia in geriatrics]. / Spécificités de la pneumonie en gériatrie.

Pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality leading to a high rate of hospitalization especially in theelderly. It is often a sign of frailty and is associated with a poor prognosis. However, taking into account the geriatric specificities (risk factors, atypical clinical presentations with "geriatric syndromes", ethical debate) using an interdisciplinary and a comprehensive geriatric approach remains an important responsibility of the general practitionner. This article summarizes these specificities and offers interventions targeted on the characteristics of elderly patients.

[Inappropriate prescribing in the elderly]. / La prescription inappropriée en gériatrie.

Potentially inappropriate medications are a preventable cause of negative clinical and economic consequences in older people. A range of educational interventions and the implemention of clinical tools to sensitize physicians to inappropriate prescriptions appear to have positively impacted physicians' awareness and prescribing behaviour, which led to significant reductions in inappropriate drugs exposures and likely translated to significant population health benefits among their older patients. Although the level of evidence is not high, the general practitioner has a central position and its sensitization to inappropriate prescription allow to improve health of the olders.

Prevalence of orthostatic hypotension and relationship with drug use amongst older patients.

INTRODUCTION: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is said to be highly prevalent in older people. Drugs are often involved as causative factor. Nevertheless, few data are available about the prevalence of OH and its relationship with drugs in olders. OBJECTIVES: To review data about (i) the prevalence and characteristics of OH in older patients; and (ii) the relationship between OH and drugs. METHODS: Review of publications from Ovid (PubMed) from 1980 to May 2011 using the following key words: "orthostatic hypotension" combined with "elderly" or equivalent for the analysis of prevalence (first search) and "orthostatic hypotension" combined with "drugs" or equivalent to assess the relationship between OH and drugs (second search). RESULTS: Fifty-one publications (of which 14 with original data) were retrieved from the prevalence search, 31 for the second search (8 with original data: 7 retrospective studies and 1 prospective cohort study) and 12 reviews or experts opinions. Prevalence of OH varies according to the characteristics of the subjects, the settings of the studies, and the procedures of blood pressure measurement. In acute geriatrics units, two studies reported a prevalence of over 30% and one study mentioned that 68% of the patients presented with at least one episode during the day. OH was associated with several geriatric problems: gait disorders, balance disorders, falls, cerebral hypoperfusion, transient ischemic attacks, cognitive impairment, acute myocardial infarct and systolic hypertension. OH can also be asymptomatic or with atypical presentation: falls, gait disorders and confusion. Psychotropic agents (antipsychotics, sedatives, antidepressants), and cardiovascular drugs (antihypertensive agents, vasodilators, diuretics) were associated with OH. DISCUSSION: If the hypothesis of causality between drug treatment and OH is confirmed, the identification of the involved drugs could be of value for the prevention of OH and its complications. In this context, the Working Group Pharmacology Pharmacotherapy and Pharmaceutical Care of the Belgian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics proposes to conduct a multicentre study to assess the prevalence of OH in Belgian acute geriatrics units and its relationship with drugs.

[Orthogeriatrics: supportive evidence for the process]. / Ortho-geriatrie: les preuves du concept.

Incidence of hip fractures increases dramatically in the aging population leading to increased admissions of frail old patients. The proof of concept of the efficacy of comprehensive geriatric assessment exists for non orthopaedic old subjects. This review identifies innovative models of care for the management of older adults with hip fracture, distinguished mainly on the basis of the role of the healthcare professionals involved in the care and their responsabilities. The managements are heterogeneous and the models are often combined. The choice to implement a model should depend of his level of evidence, the existing resources, and the willingness of both orthopaedic, and geriatric teams. The heterogeneity of the models, of the nature of interventions, of the populations and of the outcomes is challenging to undertake meta-analysis in order to choice one "universal" model. However there is a tendency to better overall outcomes in patient receiving co managed care: subjects admitted for hip fracture are often frail adults requiring a comprehensive management in order to identify and treat geriatric syndromes.

Relevance of a systematic geriatric screening and assessment in older patients with cancer: results of a prospective multicentric study.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the large-scale feasibility and usefulness of geriatric screening and assessment in clinical oncology practice by assessing the impact on the detection of unknown geriatric problems, geriatric interventions and treatment decisions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eligible patients who had a malignant tumour were ≥70 years old and treatment decision had to be made. Patients were screened using G8; if abnormal (score ≤14/17) followed by Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA). The assessment results were communicated to the treating physician using a predefined questionnaire to assess the topics mentioned above. RESULTS: One thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven patients were included in 10 hospitals. Of these patients, 70.7% had an abnormal G8 score warranting a CGA. Physicians were aware of the assessment results at the time of treatment decision in two-thirds of the patients (n = 1115; 61.3%). The assessment detected unknown geriatric problems in 51.2% of patients. When the physician was aware of the assessment results at the time of decision making, geriatric interventions were planned in 286 patients (25.7%) and the treatment decision was influenced in 282 patients (25.3%). CONCLUSION: Geriatric screening and assessment in older patients with cancer is feasible at large scale and has a significant impact on the detection of unknown geriatric problems, leading to geriatric interventions and adapted treatment.

The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised is as effective as the original to detect dementia in a French-speaking population.

INTRODUCTION: This paper presents the validation of the French version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R). METHODS: The variability of the 3 versions of the ACE-R (A, B and C), performed by the same observer, hence mainly 2 or 3 times on 119 patients showing no progression, was first calculated by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, t test and linear regression. The alpha coefficients of the 3 versions were obtained showing that the ACE-R versions can be considered as one, and an analysis of the interobserver variability was performed by Cohen's kappa coefficient, t test and linear regression on 12 patients. Eventually, we performed a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to compare the sensitivities and specificities to detect dementia of the ACE, the ACE-R and Mini Mental State Examination on 319 consecutive patients. RESULTS: The ROC areas of sensitivities and specificities of the ACE and ACE-R were very similar. Two cutoffs were identified at 83/100 and 89/100 with a specificity to normality of 98.6% if the ACE-R score was ≥83 and a sensitivity to dementia of 98.4% if the ACE-R score was ≤89. CONCLUSION: ACE-R in French is as reliable and valid as the original version to detect dementia.

[How to avoid the inappropriate prescriptions in nursing homes?]. / Comment éviter les prescriptions inappropriées en maison de repos?

The inappropriate prescription is frequent in the Belgian nursing homes. Which are the better tools to control and improve our prescription? Is it relevant to start or continue medications for prevention in the context of moderate or severe dementia? STOPP-START seems to be a good screening tool for detecting the inappropriate prescriptions by the general practitioner.

[End of life of demented patients: ethical aspects]. / Fin de vie des patients déments: aspects éthiques.

Most people in contemporary western society die of the chronic diseases of old age. Whilst palliative care is appropriate for elderly patients with chronic, non-malignant disease, few of these patients access such care compared with cancer patients. That patients dying with dementia have significant health care needs, comparable with cancer patients, is now well established. Yet, their families typically describe poor advance-care planning and an inadequate level of symptom control, with distress associated with pain, pressure sores, constipation, restlessness and shortness of breath. A comparison of people dying with advanced dementia or terminal cancer found that those with dementia were more likely to experience burdensome interventions and restraints and to have had poor advance-care planning. Prognostic models that attempt to estimate survival of >6 months in demented patients have generally poor discrimination, reflecting the unpredictable nature of most nonmalignant disease. However, a number of generic and disease-specific predictor variables were identified that may help clinicians identify older, non-cancer patients with poor prognoses and palliative care needs. Simple, well-validated prognostic models that provide clinicians with objective measures of palliative status in demented patients are needed. Additionally, research that analyses the effect of comprehensive geriatric assessment and geriatric palliative care on psychosocial outcomes in demented patients and their caregivers is needed. Advances care planning and directives making before death allow meeting patient's preferences.

Chronic urticaria in a middle-aged woman.

We report the case of a 56-year-old female who suffers from chronic urticaria and digestive symptoms, suggesting parasitic infection. Neither repetitive ova and parasite examinations in stools, nor duodenal aspiration examination reveals any parasite. The patient is treated by tinidazole, but the symptoms reappear ten days later. An additive ELISA test on stool remains positive for Giardia Lamblia; the patient receives once more tinidazole and symptoms totally disappear. This case report illustrates that the association between urticaria and digestive symptoms should guide the clinician to the diagnosis of Giardia Lamblia infection, and it shows the importance of a rapid and highly sensitive diagnostic test for giardiasis, like the ELISA test.

[Oncogeriatrics: an attempt to operational definition]. / Oncogériatrie: essai de définition opérationnelle.

Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) represents a multidisciplinary comprehensive evaluation of an older individual's functional status, comorbid medical conditions, cognition, psychological state, social support, nutritional status, and a review of the patient's medications. Initially, the use of a CGA in the care of older patients with cancer was based on an extrapolation of its ability to predict morbidity and mortality in the general geriatric population. More recently, however, accumulating data show the benefits of using a CGA particularly in patients with cancer to predict morbidity and mortality. Prospective trials evaluating the utility of a CGA to guide interventions to improve the quality of cancer care in older adults are justified.

[Parkinson syndromes in geriatrics]. / Les syndromes parkinsoniens en gériatrie.

Geriatric teams are more and more in front of patients presenting Parkinson syndromes. The frailty of the geriatric patient could be responsible of the non recognition of the diagnosis of the Parkinson and related diseases. A diagnostic approach is proposed in order to better define a care plan and to target the priorities. In collaboration with the general practitioner, the neurologist and the caregivers, an appropriate diagnosis allows to optimize and/or to adapt the treatment, to prevent the functional decline, to decrease the caregiver's burden, and eventually to improve the end of life.