Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
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To evaluate how receipt and timing of nursing home (NH) palliative care consultations (primarily by nurse practitioners with palliative care expertise) are associated with end-of-life care transitions and acute care use DESIGN: Propensity score-matched retrospective cohort study. ⋯ Palliative care consultations improve end-of-life NH care by reducing acute care use and potentially burdensome care transitions.
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To examine laxative use by individuals in hospice who were taking opioids during the last week of life. ⋯ In 2007, slightly more than half of older adults in hospice who were taking opioids used laxatives during the last week of life. Recent quality indicators from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommend laxative treatment when opioid therapy is initiated to prevent opioid-induced constipation and are intended to improve laxative use in individuals in hospice treated with opioids.
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Observational Study
A Simple Tool to Predict Development of Delirium After Elective Surgery.
To identify a quick clinical tool to assess the risk of delirium after elective surgery. ⋯ In this sample of veterans who had elective surgery with major anesthesia, Mini-Cog score predicted likelihood of postoperative delirium.
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To assess the content validity and psychometric characteristics of the Knowledge about Older Patients Quiz (KOP-Q), which measures nurses' knowledge regarding older hospitalized adults and their certainty regarding this knowledge. ⋯ The final 30-item KOP-Q is a valid, psychometrically sound, comprehensive instrument that can be used to assess the knowledge of nursing students, hospital nurses, and nurse specialists in geriatrics regarding older hospitalized adults. It can identify knowledge and certainty deficits for research purposes or serve as a tool in educational or quality improvement programs.
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To investigate factors associated with place of death of individuals in the Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors Program (MSVD). ⋯ Home-based primary and palliative care results in a high likelihood of nonhospital death, although certain demographic characteristics are strong predictors of death in the hospital. For MSVD participants, home visits in the last month of life were not associated with death outside the hospital.