Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
-
Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Hospice Care in Assisted Living Facilities Versus at Home: Results of a Multisite Cohort Study.
To compare residents of assisted living facilities receiving hospice with people receiving hospice care at home. ⋯ Three are several differences between residents of assisted living receiving hospice care and individuals living at home receiving hospice care. A better understanding of these differences could allow hospices to develop guidelines for better coordination of end-of-life care for the assisted living population.
-
Multicenter Study
Decline in Fast Gait Speed as a Predictor of Disability in Older Adults.
To determine whether fast gait speed at study baseline and change in gait speed had independent associations with disability onset. ⋯ Accelerated decline in fast gait speed was associated with disability independent of baseline fast gait speed. These results confirm the importance of measuring gait speed repeatedly in elderly adults to identify those at higher risk of disability and the need to identify determinants of decline, because they are likely to be targets for prevention and treatment to reduce disability risk.
-
Comparative Study
Comparison of Wells and Revised Geneva Rule to Assess Pretest Probability of Pulmonary Embolism in High-Risk Hospitalized Elderly Adults.
To assess and compare the diagnostic power for pulmonary embolism (PE) of Wells and revised Geneva scores in two independent cohorts (training and validation groups) of elderly adults hospitalized in a non-emergency department. ⋯ In high-risk elderly hospitalized adults, the Wells score is more accurate than the revised Geneva score for diagnosing PE.
-
Healthcare Proxy Awareness of Suspected Infections in Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia.
To determine healthcare proxy involvement in decision-making regarding infections in individuals with advanced dementia. ⋯ Proxies are unaware of and do not participate in decision-making for most suspected infections that NH residents with advanced dementia experience. Proxy awareness of episodes and documentation of provider-proxy discussions are not congruent.
-
To estimate the effect of pre-intensive care unit (ICU) health categories on mortality during and after critical illness, focusing specifically on the effect of pre-ICU frailty on short- and long-term mortality. ⋯ Critically ill elderly adults can be categorized according to pre-ICU health categories. These categories, particularly pre-ICU frailty, may be important for understanding risk of death during and after critical illness.