Hernia repair in elderly patients under unmonitored local anaesthesia is feasible

Background: There is a growing interest in the use of local anaesthesia for inguinal hernia repair. It certainly seems to be an acceptable alternative for the elderly. Supporting intravenous sedation, however, still requires monitoring, anaesthetic personnel and some preparations for the patient. Therefore we set up a feasibility study of hernia repair under local anaesthesia without intravenous sedation or monitoring in elderly patients. Method: A total of 62 patients (aged 65 years or more) with unilateral inguinal hernia received a Mesh Plug Repair. Prospectively collected data included procedure-related complications and information on pain and quality of life as measured by Short Form 36. Results: No procedure-related complications were noted. Comparing the preoperative scores, the SF-36 on day 14 (n=61) did not differ significantly. After a median follow-up of ten months (n=54), significantly higher scores were found for scales of physical and emotional role and pain (all p<0.05). Twenty-two patients reported some form of pain (40.7%). 94.4% of the patients would recommend the procedure when asked. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that Mesh Plug Repair performed under unmonitored local anaesthesia with no intravenous sedation is a feasible alternative for elderly patients. It has advantages for the medical organization without disadvantages for the patient.     

某社区老年人支气管哮喘流行病学调查

目的　了解社区老年人支气管哮喘的患病情况 ,为哮喘防治奠定基础。　方法　采用整群抽样 ,对南海市桂城社区 2 481名 60岁以上老年人进行哮喘的流行病学调查。　结果　确诊老年人哮喘 98例 ,患病率为 3 .95 % (男4.91%、女 2 .92 % ) ,男性高于女性 (P <0 .0 5 ) ;工业区老年人哮喘的患病率高于文化区 (患病率分别为 5 .12 %、3 .2 6% ,P<0 .0 5 ) ;有遗传家族史者 45例 ,占 45 .92 % ;78%的患者发病年龄 >14岁 ;诱发因素前 3位分别是上呼吸道感染、气候变化和刺激性气体 ;合并COPD2 5例 ,占 2 5 .5 1%。　结论　老年人哮喘是不容忽视的疾病 ,需加强对社区哮喘的管理和教育。     

Body composition in the elderly: Total body water and anthropometry

Body composition measured with isotopic dilution was compared with anthropometric measurements. The study was carried out in 47 subjects from both sexes, 65 to 92 years old. Total body water (TBW), anthropometric measurements, and dynamometry were assessed. TBW was significatively higher in men than women and decreased with age. Dynamometry and fatfree mass were well correlated (r=0.73 in males and r=0.58 in females) and significantly different between sexes. A negative correlation was found for dynamometry with age, being significant for women. Linear regression equations to predict TBW from anthropometric measurements in males and females were obtained: Males: TBW(I)=19.349+0.617 weight(kg) — 0.931 mid-arm circumference(cm)+0.122 dynamometry (kg) Females: TBW(l)=−5.531+0.343 weight(kg)-0.213 triceps skinfold (mm)+ 0.148 dynamometry(kg) + 3.424 wrist diameter (cm). This simple model is proposed for use in epidemiological and field studies where other more sophisticated methods can not be applied.     

305例老年死亡病例医院感染回顾性调查

本文结果表明,305例老年死亡病例医院感染的发病率为33.8％。感染最多部位为肺部(66.9％),其次为尿路感染(19.4％)。高龄患者,侵袭性操作、多种抗生素联合应用,激素疗法等是诱发医院感染的危险因素。58.8％的病原菌为革兰氏阴性杆菌,37.2％为真菌。31株病原菌药敏结果显示耐药率为33.3％。本文指出合理应用抗生素是预防医院感染的重要措施之一。     

老年急性重症胆管炎的外科治疗(附76例分析)

目的：探讨老年急性重症胆管炎(ACST)的外科治疗。方法：总结60岁以上老年ACST76例，根据病程分段统计手术后并发症率和死亡率。结果：病程在1天以内手术者，并发症率为10．0％，死亡率为0；1～3天手术者，并发症率为21．9％，死亡率为6．3％；3天以上手术者，并发症率为64.3％，死亡率为28．8％。三组之间比较有显著差异(P＜0．01)。结论：老年人ACST治疗上应早期手术，解除胆道梗阻，建立通畅的胆道引流；手术应简捷，尽量缩短手术时间。     

Correlations between bone mineral density and demographic, lifestyle, and biochemical variables in community-dwelling Japanese women 69 years of age and over

Introduction A few epidemiologic studies have comprehensively attempted to identify risk factors for low bone mineral density (BMD) in elderly Asian women. The purpose of this study was to identify demographic, lifestyle, and biochemical factors correlated with BMD in elderly Japanese women 69 years of age and over.Methods The study design was cross-sectional. The subjects were 583 ambulatory women aged 69 years and over, and their average age was 74.3 (SD 4.4) years. Predictor variables were age, reproductive history, anthropometric indices, grip strength, calcium intake, lifestyle information, and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)₂D), osteocalcin (OC), and undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) values. The outcome variable was forearm BMD measured with a DTX-200 osteometer.Results Simple linear regression analyses showed that BMD was significantly positively associated with body height, weight, body mass index, grip strength, serum albumin concentration, and “housework,” and negatively associated with age, years since menopause, age at menarche, number of children, serum 1,25(OH)₂D concentration, serum OC concentration, and ucOC concentration. The stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that weight (β=0.00316, SE=0.00028, R²=0.180), age (β=−0.00321, SE=0.00050, R²=0.108), log-transformed serum OC (β=−0.0445, SE=0.0064, R²=0.053), log-transformed serum 1,25(OH)₂D (β=−0.0401, SE=0.0074, R²=0.050), “farmwork” (β=0.00904, SE=0.00426, R²=0.005), and serum 25(OH)D concentration (β=0.000281, SE=0.000120, R²=0.003) were significantly associated with BMD.Conclusion It was concluded that body weight is a major predictor of forearm BMD among the factors measured in this study in independent Japanese women 69 years of age and over and that serum 1,25(OH)₂D concentration may be associated with cortical BMD. Maintenance of body weight is very important for maintaining BMD in this population, unless a large weight aggravates obesity-related diseases. A follow-up study is needed to confirm these findings.     

167例老年人心力衰竭的循证治疗实践

目的:探讨老年人充血性心力衰竭(CHF)的循证医学(EBM)标准化治疗。方法:167例确诊为CHF的住院患者,年龄60￣90岁,平均(74.38±6.84)岁,按照循证医学的基本原理,在病因、诱因和改善心衰症状的基础上,强调能改善预后的神经内分泌拮抗剂的应用。结果:本组167例CHF患者,显效96例(57.5%),有效62例(37.1%),总有效率94.6%,死亡9例(5.4%)。神经内分泌拮抗剂践行率分别为:ACEI类119例(71.3%),β受体阻滞剂69例(41.32%),醛固酮拮抗剂88例(52.7%);随访6￣36个月,平均(16.25±9.30)个月;107例(67.7%)再入院1￣5次,院外死亡6例。结论:按照EBM原理对老年CHF患者制定的个体化治疗方案,效果理想。在老年CHF患者中,神经内分泌拮抗剂践行率较低,可能是再住院次数多的原因之一。     

瑞波西汀与多虑平治疗老年抑郁症对照研究

目的观察瑞波西汀治疗老年抑郁症的疗效和安全性。方法随机将60例年龄≥60岁的老年抑郁症患者分为多虑平组（30例）和瑞波西汀组（30例），疗程6周，采用汉密尔顿抑郁量表（HAMD）和副反应量表（TESS）在治疗前和治疗后1、2、4、6周末评定药物疗效和副反应。结果两组疗效无显著差异，HAMD总分反各因子分从疗后2周至6周均较治疗前显著降低，两组间比较无显著性差异；治疗结束时TESS评分瑞波西汀组显著低于多虑平组。结论瑞波西汀适合于老年抑郁症患者的治疗，服用方便、安全，可首选使用。     

Guardians of health: The dimensions of elder caregiving among women in a Mexico City neighborhood

Little is known about the family care of older adults in Mexico and the role of women in this process. To begin to fill this knowledge gap, this paper describes how a small sample of low-income women in one Mexico City neighborhood conceptualized the caregiver role and identified the forms of assistance they gave to their older relatives on a daily basis. A grounded theory approach was used to collect and analyze the data. Forty-one semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with female caregivers. The age of participants was between 19 and 83 years, and care recipients between 56 and 92 years. The relationship of caregiver to care recipient was wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, sibling, and other relative. The mean length of time providing care was 5 years. Most participants were not employed outside the home, and the median monthly household income was 2000 pesos. We found that caregiving was a life-changing event, with 27 of 41 participants viewing themselves as guardians. Caregivers' emphasis was on care recipients' emotional needs in order to provide “the most precious gift” of “time and attention.” Two forms of assistance were ‘keeping company’ and ‘watching out’ as safeguards against poor health or further decline in health. These findings increase the cultural understanding of caregiving in Mexico. Further research is needed to test the caregiving concepts identified in this study.