Detection and management of hyperactive and hypoactive delirium in older patients during hospitalization: a retrospective cohort study evaluating daily practice.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study are to study daily hospital practice regarding detection and management and to study hyperactive and hypoactive delirium of older patients during their hospitalization. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study evaluating care as usual for older hospitalized patients with delirium at Maastricht University Medical Center+, a university hospital in the Netherlands, was performed. Inclusion criteria were older hospitalized patients (65+ years), diagnosed with delirium between 1 January and 31 December 2014. Data were retrieved from the patients' medical files. Delirium was categorized as hyperactive or hypoactive. Primary outcome measures were prevalence and management (pharmacological, reorientation, screening for delirium and delirium consultations, and physical restraints). Secondary outcomes were short-term adverse outcomes. RESULTS: Prevalence of delirium was 5% (N = 401), of which 77% (n = 307) was hyperactive and 23% (n = 94) was hypoactive. Significantly, more patients with a hyperactive delirium received medication to manage the delirium than patients with a hypoactive delirium (89% vs. 77%, respectively, p = 0.004). No other significant differences between the subtypes were found. CONCLUSION: There was probably a strong under-recognition of delirium. Drugs were the main intervention of choice, especially for patients with hyperactive delirium. The two subtypes did not differ on non-pharmacological management. The retrospective nature of this study sheds light on the status quo of recognition, management, and care as usual for the different delirium subtypes in daily hospital practice, which may help in forming new guidelines and protocols for the detection and treatment of delirium for older patients in hospitals.

Can education improve clinical practice concerning delirium in older hospitalised patients? Results of a pre-test post-test study on an educational intervention for nursing staff.

BACKGROUND: Delirium is a common and serious complication of hospitalisation in older adults. It can lead to prolonged hospital stay, institutionalisation, and even death. However, it often remains unrecognised or is not managed adequately. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an educational intervention for nursing staff on three aspects of clinical practice concerning delirium in older hospitalised patients: the frequency and correctness of screening for delirium using the 13-item Delirium Observation Screening score (DOS), and the frequency of geriatric consultations requested for older patients. The a priori expectations were that there would be an increase in all three of these outcomes. METHODS: We designed an educational intervention and implemented this on two inpatient hospital units. Before providing the educational session, the nursing staff was asked to fill out two questionnaires about delirium in older hospitalised patients. The educational session was then tailored to each unit based on the results of these questionnaires. Additionally, posters and flyers with information on the screening and management of delirium were provided and participants were shown where to find additional information. Relevant data (outcomes, demographics and background patient data) were collected retrospectively from digital medical files. Data was retrospectively collected for four different time points: three pre-test and one post-test. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in frequency of delirium screening (P = 0.001), and both units showed an increase in the correctness of the screening. No significant effect of the educational intervention was found for the proportion of patients who received a geriatric consultation (P = 0.083). CONCLUSION: The educational intervention was fairly successful in making positive changes in clinical practice: after the educational session an improvement in the frequency and correctness of screening for delirium was observed. A trend, though not significant, towards an increase in the proportion of geriatric consultations for older hospitalised patients was also observed.

Supporting clinical rules engine in the adjustment of medication (SCREAM): protocol of a multicentre, prospective, randomised study.

BACKGROUND: In the nursing home population, it is estimated that 1 in every 3 patients is polymedicated and given their considerable frailty, these patients are especially prone to adverse drug reactions. Clinical pharmacist-led medication reviews are considered successful interventions to improve medication safety in the inpatient setting. Due to the limited available evidence concerning the benefits of medication reviews performed in the nursing home setting, we propose a study aiming to demonstrate a positive effect that a clinical decision support system, as a health care intervention, may have on the target population. The primary objective of this study is to reduce the number of patients with at least one event when using the clinical decision support system compared to the regular care. These events consist of hospital referrals, delirium, falls, and/or deaths. METHOD/DESIGN: This study is a multicentre, prospective, randomised study with a cluster group design. The randomisation will be per main nursing home physician and stratified per ward (somatic and psychogeriatric). In the intervention group the clinical decision support system will be used to screen medication list, laboratory values and medical history in order to obtain potential clinical relevant remarks. The remarks will be sent to the main physician and feedback will be provided whether the advice was followed or not. In the control group regular care will be applied. DISCUSSION: We strongly believe that by using a clinical decision support system, medication reviews are performed in a standardised way which leads to comparable results between patients. In addition, using a clinical decision support system eliminates the time factor to perform medication reviews as the major problems related to medication, laboratory values, indications and/or established patient characteristics will be directly available. In this way, and in order to make the medication review process complete, consultation within healthcare professionals and/or the patient itself will be time effective and the medication surveillance could be performed around the clock. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Netherlands National Trial Register NTR5165 . Registered 2nd April 2015.

The Maastricht Frailty Screening Tool for Hospitalised Patients (MFST-HP) to Identify Non-Frail Patients.

BACKGROUND: The Maastricht frailty screening tool for hospitalised patients (MFST-HP) is a frailty screening tool that is fully integrated in the nursing assessment at admission. This study aims to determine the predictive value of the MFST-HP for the health outcomes length of hospital stay, discharge destination, readmission and mortality. METHODS: Data of 2691 hospitalised patients (70+), admitted between 01-01-2013 and 31-12-2013, were included in the study. The predictive value of the MFST-HP was analysed by means of receiver operating characteristics curves. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for different MFST-HP cut-off scores were examined. RESULTS: Mean age of the population was 78.9 years (SD 6.4) and their average length of stay was 10.2 days (SD 9.7). Nearly 75.0% of the patients were discharged to their home and around. Approximately 25% of the patients were readmitted within 120 days. Mortality rates were 4.3% and 9.5% (within 30 or 120 days postdischarge, respectively). The area under the curve was moderate and varied from 0.50 to 0.69 for the different outcomes. As a result of high values on negative predictive value (between 73.5% and 96.7%) the MFST-HP is able to rule out a large proportion of non-frail patients. In this study 84% of the patients had a MFST-HP score of ≥ 6, suggested as most favourable cut off. CONCLUSIONS: The MFST-HP seems to operate more strongly as a non-frailty indicator than as a frailty indicator and may in this respect help professionals to decide upon subsequent care. The MFST-HP is able to rule out 84% of the non-frail population in this study. The remaining 16% need to be assessed by means of a comprehensive geriatric assessment or rapid geriatric assessment, to gain more insight in the level of vulnerability in the frail-group.

Psychometric properties and feasibility of instruments for the detection of delirium in older hospitalized patients: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Delirium is a serious and common complication among older hospitalized patients and is a predictor of many adverse outcomes. However, up to 72% of delirium incidents are unrecognized or misdiagnosed. The aim of this systematic review is to determine the validity, reliability, and feasibility of instruments for the detection of delirium in older hospitalized patients. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted. The inclusion criteria were a mean or median age of 65+ years, the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or International Classification of Diseases-10 as a reference standard, and publication in English. All included studies underwent a quality assessment (QUADAS-2). RESULTS: Forty-three of the 3.790 identified studies were relevant to the review, describing 28 instruments. Quality assessment resulted in 37 studies with a positive quality assessment, describing 23 instruments. Five instruments (Delirium Observation Scale (DOS), Nursing Delirium Screening Scale (Nu-DESC), Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), CAM-Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98) were described in three or more methodologically sound studies. The Delirium Observation Screening Scale (DOS) and Nu-DESC are observational instruments with good psychometric properties, but the Nu-DESC is shorter and has been validated in more languages. The CAM, CAM-ICU, and Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R-98) are instruments with both observational and interactive components. The CAM is the most widely studied and demonstrates the best psychometric properties. CONCLUSION: Timely detection of delirium might reduce the negative outcomes of delirium in the long term. The Nu-DESC and CAM appear to be the most adequate instruments for detecting delirium. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effects of a Medication Review on Delirium in Older Hospitalised Patients: A Comparative Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Delirium in older hospitalised patients is a common and serious disorder. Polypharmacy and certain medications are risk factors for developing delirium. A medication review could benefit older hospitalised patients with delirium. OBJECTIVES: (1) Evaluate the effects of medication review on length of delirium, length of hospital stay, mortality, and discharge destination; and (2) describe and analyse the proposed changes to medication and its implementation by the treating physician. SETTING: The study was conducted at Maastricht University Medical Centre+. METHODS: We compared two cohorts of older patients with delirium: the first cohort from before introducing the medication review, and a second cohort 5 months after introduction of the medication review. Data were extracted from the patients' digital medical records. RESULTS: A significant interaction effect of cohort and number of medications taken by the patient was found for duration of delirium: patients from the second cohort taking between zero and six medications had significantly shorter delirious episodes than patients in the first cohort. This effect bordered on significance for patients taking between seven and 11 medications, but disappeared for patients taking 12 or more medications. No other statistically significant differences were found between the cohorts. The proposed changes in medication were implemented for 71% of the patients. CONCLUSION: A medication review seems to significantly decrease the length of an older patient's delirious episode. Given the clinical relevance of these findings, we advise medication reviews for all older patients who are delirious or are at risk of developing delirium.

Validation of an automated delirium prediction model (DElirium MOdel (DEMO)): an observational study.

OBJECTIVES: Delirium is an underdiagnosed, severe and costly disorder, and 30%-40% of cases can be prevented. A fully automated model to predict delirium (DEMO) in older people has been developed, and the objective of this study is to validate the model in a hospital setting. SETTING: Secondary care, one hospital with two locations. DESIGN: Observational study. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 450 randomly selected patients over 60 years of age admitted to Zuyderland Medical Centre. Patients who presented with delirium on admission were excluded. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Development of delirium through chart review. RESULTS: A total of 383 patients were included in this study. The analysis was performed for delirium within 1, 3 and 5 days after a DEMO score was obtained. Sensitivity was 87.1% (95% CI 0.756 to 0.939), 84.2% (95% CI 0.732 to 0.915) and 82.7% (95% CI 0.734 to 0.893) for 1, 3 and 5 days, respectively, after obtaining the DEMO score. Specificity was 77.9% (95% CI 0.729 to 0.882), 81.5% (95% CI 0.766 to 0.856) and 84.5% (95% CI 0.797 to 0.884) for 1, 3 and 5 days, respectively, after obtaining the DEMO score. CONCLUSION: DEMO is a satisfactory prediction model but needs further prospective validation with in-person delirium confirmation. In the future, DEMO will be applied in clinical practice so that physicians will be aware of when a patient is at an increased risk of developing delirium, which will facilitate earlier recognition and diagnosis, and thus will allow the implementation of prevention measures.

Peritoneal dialysis in centenarian patients: no age limitation?

BACKGROUND: The majority of dialysis patients are elderly, and the trend towards even more elderly people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) will further determine the dialysis field in the future. METHOD: If these elderly ESRD patients do not opt for conservative ESRD care, they may still qualify for peritoneal dialysis (PD), which may be assisted or unassisted. RESULTS: Although they may be more frail and have a greater co-morbidity burden compared to their younger counterparts, elderly patients with ESRD may still be able to maintain a good functionality level with adequate quality of life by performing PD, which may be assisted (treatment performed or supported e.g. by partner or nurse) or unassisted (without support). PD may indeed further contribute to maintaining autonomy, and enhance quality of life compared to in-center conventional hemodialysis. In order to illustrate this strategy, we hereby describe a centenarian patient with ESRD who received assisted PD successfully. CONCLUSIONS: With appropriate management and infrastructure, (very) high age is not a contra-indication for PD.

The development of an automated ward independent delirium risk prediction model.

Background A delirium is common in hospital settings resulting in increased mortality and costs. Prevention of a delirium is clearly preferred over treatment. A delirium risk prediction model can be helpful to identify patients at risk of a delirium, allowing the start of preventive treatment. Current risk prediction models rely on manual calculation of the individual patient risk. Objective The aim of this study was to develop an automated ward independent delirium riskprediction model. To show that such a model can be constructed exclusively from electronically available risk factors and thereby implemented into a clinical decision support system (CDSS) to optimally support the physician to initiate preventive treatment. Setting A Dutch teaching hospital. Methods A retrospective cohort study in which patients, 60 years or older, were selected when admitted to the hospital, with no delirium diagnosis when presenting, or during the first day of admission. We used logistic regression analysis to develop a delirium predictive model out of the electronically available predictive variables. Main outcome measure A delirium risk prediction model. Results A delirium risk prediction model was developed using predictive variables that were significant in the univariable regression analyses. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of the "medication model" model was 0.76 after internal validation. Conclusions CDSSs can be used to automatically predict the risk of a delirium in individual hospitalised patients' by exclusively using electronically available predictive variables. To increase the use and improve the quality of predictive models, clinical risk factors should be documented ready for automated use.

Screening for Frailty in Hospitalized Older Adults: Reliability and Feasibility of the Maastricht Frailty Screening Tool for Hospitalized Patients (MFST-HP).

As nurses in hospitals are confronted with increasing numbers of older patients, their geriatric nursing skills and knowledge must be integrated into daily clinical practice. Early risk identification via screening tools may help improve geriatric care. To reduce the assessment burden of nurses, the Maastricht Frailty Screening Tool for Hospitalized Patients (MFST-HP) was developed. The aim of the current study was to explore aspects of reliability, validity, and feasibility of the MFST-HP. Intrarater reliability was assessed by measuring patients two times within 24 hours. Interrater reliability was assessed by having patients screened by two different nurses. Construct validity was studied by the associations between the MFST-HP scores and age and comorbidities. Intraclass correlation coefficients for both intra- and interrater reliability were good (>0.93). Older patients and those with more comorbidity showed higher scores on the MFST-HP compared to younger patients and those with less comorbidity. The MFST-HP shows promise as a reliable, valid, and feasible screening tool for frailty among hospitalized older adults. [Res Gerontol Nurs. 2016; 9(5):243-251.].

The support of medication reviews in hospitalised patients using a clinical decision support system.

OBJECTIVES: First, to estimate the added value of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) in the performance of medication reviews in hospitalised elderly. Second, to identify the limitations of the current CDSS by analysing generated drug-related problems (DRPs). METHODS: Medication reviews were performed in patients admitted to the geriatric ward of the Zuyderland medical centre. Additionally, electronically available patient information was introduced into a CDSS. The DRP notifications generated by the CDSS were compared with those found in the medication review. The DRP notifications were analysed to learn how to improve the CDSS. RESULTS: A total of 223 DRP strategies were identified during the medication reviews. The CDSS generated 70 clinically relevant DRP notifications. Of these DRP notifications, 63 % (44) were also found during the medication reviews. The CDSS generated 10 % (26) new DRP notifications and conveyed 28 % (70) of all 249 clinically relevant DRPs that were found. Classification of the CDSS generated DRP notifications related to 'medication error type' revealed that 'contraindications/interactions/side effects' and 'indication without medication' were the main categories not identified during the manual medication review. The error types 'medication without indication', 'double medication', and 'wrong medication' were mostly not identified by the CDSS. CONCLUSIONS: The CDSS used in this study is not yet sufficiently advanced to replace the manual medication review, though it does add value to the manual medication review. The strengths and weaknesses of the current CDSS can be determined according to the medication error types.

To what extent is clinical and laboratory information used to perform medication reviews in the nursing home setting? the CLEAR study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate to what extent laboratory data, actual medication, medical history, and/or drug indication influence the quality of medication reviews for nursing home patients. METHODS: Forty-six health care professionals from different fields were requested to perform medication reviews for three different cases. Per case, the amount of information provided varied in three subsequent stages: stage 1, medication list only; stage 2, adding laboratory data and reason for hospital admission; and stage 3, adding medical history/drug indication. Following a slightly modified Delphi method, a multidisciplinary team performed the medication review for each case and stage. The results of these medication reviews were used as reference reviews (gold standard). The remarks from the participants were scored, according to their potential clinical impact, from relevant to harmful on a scale of 3 to -1. A total score per case and stage was calculated and expressed as a percentage of the total score from the expert panel for the same case and stage. RESULTS: The overall mean percentage over all cases, stages, and groups was 37.0% when compared with the reference reviews. For one of the cases, the average score decreased significantly from 40.0% in stage 1, to 30.9% in stage 2, and 27.9% in stage 3; no significant differences between stages was found for the other cases. CONCLUSION: The low performance, against the gold standard, of medication reviews found in the present study highlights that information is incorrectly used or wrongly interpreted, irrespective of the available information. Performing medication reviews without using the available information in an optimal way can have potential implications for patient safety.

Development of a computer system to support medication reviews in nursing homes.

The frail elderly populations of nursing homes frequently use drugs and suffer from considerable comorbidities. Medication reviews are intended to support evidence based prescribing and optimise therapy. However, literature is still ambiguous regarding the optimal method and the effects of medication reviews. Innovative computerised systems may support the medication reviews in the future. We are developing a clinical decision support system (CDSS) that, independently of the prescribing software, continuously monitors all prescribed drugs while taking into account co-medication, laboratory-data and co-morbidities. The CDSS will be developed in five phases: (1) development of the computerised system, (2) development of the clinical rules, (3) validation of the CDSS, (4) randomised controlled trial, and (5) feasibility for implementation in different nursing homes. The clinical decision support system aims at supporting the traditional medication review.

[Doubts about the efficacy of fall-prevention programmes for the elderly]. / Twijfel aan effect valpolikliniek voor ouderen.

Multifactorial fall-prevention programmes are often not effective in preventing falls and functional decline. This is also the case in the recently published study of de Vries et al. Several causes for this lack of efficacy can be given. An important finding in the Dutch population is that a pragmatic multidisciplinary fall-prevention programme has no added benefit over and above normal care. This is probably because in the Dutch situation, the GP has already adapted many aspects of multifactorial fall analysis into the integrated care he or she provides to the elderly patient.

A multidisciplinary fall prevention program for elderly persons: a feasibility study.

Falling is a common problem among elderly people and has many negative consequences. In the Netherlands, there is a need for effective fall prevention interventions aimed at elderly persons with an increased risk of falling. For this reason, we adapted a successful British fall prevention program comprising a medical occupational therapy assessment to the Dutch health care setting. This article describes the adaptation of this program and a pilot study to assess its feasibility in Dutch health care according to the implementers of the intervention as well as the participants (n = 21). This study showed that the Dutch intervention protocol is feasible in Dutch health care for both participants and implementers of the program. However, minor refinement of the intervention is warranted to improve its feasibility. The structured approach to adapt and pretest an intervention protocol appeared to be essential when aiming to implement a complex intervention program in a different health care setting.

Lack of effectiveness of a multidisciplinary fall-prevention program in elderly people at risk: a randomized, controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether a pragmatic multidisciplinary fall-prevention program was more effective than usual care in preventing new falls and functional decline in elderly people. DESIGN: A two-group, randomized, controlled trial with 12 months of follow-up. SETTING: University hospital and home-based intervention, the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred thirty-three community-dwelling Dutch people aged 65 and over who were seen in an emergency department after a fall. INTERVENTION: Participants in the intervention group underwent a detailed medical and occupational-therapy assessment to evaluate and address risk factors for recurrent falls, followed by recommendations and referral if indicated. People in the control group received usual care. MEASUREMENTS: Number of people sustaining a fall (fall calendar) and daily functioning (Frenchay Activity Index). RESULTS: Results showed no statistically significantly favorable effects on falls (odds ratio=0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.50-1.49) or daily functioning (regression coefficient=0.37, CI=-0.90 to 1.63) after 12 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: The multidisciplinary fall-prevention program was not effective in preventing falls and functional decline in this Dutch healthcare setting. Implementing the program in its present form in the Netherlands is not recommended. This trial shows that there can be considerable discrepancy between the "ideal" (experimental) version of a program and the implemented version of the same program. The importance of implementation research in assessing feasibility and effectiveness of such a program in a specific healthcare setting is therefore stressed.