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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Managing patients with COPD exacerbation
— does age matter? | | Author(s) | Robert A Stone, Derek Lowe, Jonathan M Potter |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 41, no 4, July 2012 |
| Pages | pp 461-468 |
| Source | http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/ http://www.bgs.org.uk/ |
| Keywords | Respiratory tract diseases ; Chronic illness ; Admission [hospitals] ; Ageing process ; At risk. |
| Annotation | There is little information about the relationship between age and the management of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) exacerbation, although older persons are known to be at a greater risk of hospital admission. In the present study the authors investigated responses from the clinical and patient questionnaire elements of the 2008 UK COPD audit, splitting the data into age deciles. The ages among participants ranged from 27 to 102. Patient-reported data suggested older patients had inferior knowledge of COPD, undertook less self-care and were less likely to recognise symptoms of exacerbation prior to hospitalisation. Clinician-reported data showed that although older patients had severe disease and symptoms, greater co-morbidity at presentation and higher mortality, fewer were seen in hospital or followed up subsequently by respiratory specialists. Older patients were more likely to have a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order signed within 24 hours of admission, irrespective of co-morbidities or performance status. The observations were particularly applicable to those aged 80 or above. The authors conclude that clinicians should consider increasing age as a specific risk factor in the management of COPD. Acute units and community teams should review carefully their protocols and pathways for how they assess, manage, discharge and follow-up older patients with COPD exacerbation. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-120814003 A |
| Classmark | CN: CI: LD:QKH: BG: CA3 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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