| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
A follow-up intervention in severely demented patients after discharge from a special Alzheimer acute care unit
— impact on early emergency room re-hopsitalization rate | | Author(s) | Helene Villars, Charlotte Dupuy, Pauline Soler |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 28, no 11, November 2013 |
| Publisher | Wiley Blackwell, November 2013 |
| Pages | pp 1131-1140 |
| Source | www.orangejournal.org |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Discharge [hospitals] ; Behaviour disorders ; Therapeutics ; Admission [hospitals] ; Accident & emergency depts. |
| Annotation | Emergency room (ER) re-hospitalisations are prevalent in older patients who have severe Alzheimer's disease. Participants in the present study were 390 patients who had recently been discharged from a Special Alzheimer Acute Care Unit. The patients, all hospitalised between 2007 and 2009, had at least one of the following characteristics: severe disruptive behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) (agitation, aggressiveness, and psychotic symptoms), change of living arrangement related to BPSD, exhaustion of the principal caregiver and discharge of a subject with anosognosia living alone in the community. The intervention consisted of an individualised care plan, targeting the problems observed during the hospital stay, implemented by the means of regular telephone contacts (in the first week after discharge, before the end of the first month, and then at three and six months) between a geriatric team and the patient's caregiver. Information was gathered on functional decline, BPSD, change of living arrangement and treatment. The calls were followed by a telephone intervention providing advice, support and information to the caregiver. When required these calls were followed by a consultation with a physician or psychologist or by a consultation in the patient's home. The primary outcome measure was the ER re-hospitalisation rate, defined as occurring within 31 days of discharge. Results of the study showed that the early ER re-hospitalisation rate was 8.39% in 2007 versus 8.02% in 2008 and 7.47% in 2009. Vocal disruptive behaviours were found to be more prevalent in re-hospitalised patients than in non re-hospitalised patients. There was a nonsignificant decrease of early ER re-hospitalisation rate at one month after discharge. Interventions addressing severe dementia affected patients with BPSD are needed as this is a major issue in the organisation of health care systems. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-131018202 A |
| Classmark | EA: LD:QKJ: EP: LL: LD:QKH: LD6 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|