Correlates of change in self-perceived oral health among older adults in Brazil: findings from the Health, Well-Being and Aging Study

BackgroundIdentifying changes in the oral health status of older populations, and their predictors and explanations, is necessary for public health planning. The authors assessed patterns of change in oral health–related quality of life in a large cohort of older adults in Brazil during a five-year period and evaluated associations between baseline characteristics and those changes.MethodsThe sample consisted of 747 older people enrolled in a Brazilian cohort study called the Health, Well-Being and Aging (Saúde, Bem-estar e Envelhecimento [SABE]) Study. Trained examiners measured participants' self-perceived oral health by using the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). The authors calculated changes in the overall GOHAI score and in the scores for each of the GOHAI's three dimensions individually by subtracting the baseline score from the score at follow-up. A positive difference indicated improvement in oral health, a negative difference indicated a decline and a difference of zero indicated no change.ResultsThe authors found that 48.56 percent of the participants experienced a decline in oral health and 33.48 percent experienced an improvement. Participants with 16 or more missing teeth and eight or more years of education were more likely to have an improvement in total GOHAI score. Deterioration was more likely to occur among those with two or more diseases. Improvement and decline in GOHAI functional scores were related to the number of missing teeth. The authors found no significant model for the change in the psychosocial score, and self-rated general health was the only variable related to both improvement and decline in pain or discomfort scores.ConclusionsThe authors observed a bidirectional change in self-perceived oral health, with deterioration predominating. The strongest predictor of improvement in the total GOHAI score was the number of missing teeth, whereas the number of diseases was the strongest predictor of deterioration.Clinical ImplicationsDental professionals and policymakers need to know the directions of change in older adults' oral health to establish treatment priorities and evaluate the impact of services directed at this population.     

老年病房备用药品的集束化管理

目的探讨集束化管理方法提高老年病房备用药品管理水平的作用。方法对老年病房备用药品管理现状进行调查,分析药品管理中存在的问题,针对问题制定集束化管理策略方案并实施,包括确定老年科常备药和亚专科备药管理目录,加强特殊药品管理,统一制作药品标识,落实药物效期管理等。结果老年病房药品管理质控得分由实施前的(90.71±0.69)分提升至(95.00±1.52)分(P0.05)。结论运用集束化管理策略加强病区备用药品的规范管理,能提升病区药品管理水平,降低药品安全隐患,保障患者用药安全。     

Nutritional screening and dietitian consultation rates in a geriatric evaluation and management unit

Aim

Nutritional screening may not always lead to intervention. The present study aimed to determine: (i) the rate of nutritional screening in hospitalised older adults; (ii) whether nutritional screening led to dietitian consultation and (iii) factors associated with malnutrition.

Methods

In this prospective study of patients aged ≥70 years admitted to a Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit (GEMU), malnutrition was screened for using the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA‐SF) and identified using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA).

Results

Of the 172 patients participating in the study, 53 (30.8%) patients were malnourished, and 84 (48.8%) were at risk of malnutrition. Mean (SD) age was 85.2 (6.4 years), with 131 patients (76.2%) female. Nutritional screening was performed for all patients; however, it was incomplete in 59 (34.3%) because of omission of the anthropometric measurement. Overall, 62 (36.0%) of the total number of patients were seen by the dietitian, which included 26 (49%) of malnourished patients, 27 (32%) of at‐risk patients and 9 (26%) of the well‐nourished patients. No patients lost >1% of body weight during GEMU stay. Malnourished patients were more likely to be frail, have poor appetite, depression, and have lower levels of: albumin, cognition, physical function, grip strength and quality of life.

Conclusions

The full benefits of nutritional screening by MNA‐SF may not be realised if it does not result in malnourished patients receiving a dietitian consultation. However, it is possible that enrichment of the foodservice with high protein/high‐energy options minimised patient weight loss in the GEMU.     

乌灵胶囊联合安非他酮治疗老年抑郁症的疗效观察

目的研究乌灵胶囊联合盐酸安非他酮缓释片治疗老年抑郁症的临床疗效。方法选取2015年12月—2017年12月青海大学附属医院接收的120例老年抑郁症患者作为研究对象,将所有患者随机分为对照组和治疗组,每组各60例。对照组患者口服盐酸安非他酮缓释片,1片/次,2次/d。治疗组患者在对照组治疗的基础上口服乌灵胶囊,3粒/次,3次/d,温开水送下。7 d为1个疗程,两组患者持续治疗8个疗程。观察并记录两组患者的临床疗效,对比两组治疗前后的汉密尔顿焦虑量表(HAMA)评分和汉密尔顿抑郁量表(HAMD)评分。结果治疗4、8周后,两组HAMA和HAMD评分均显著低于治疗前,且治疗8周后HAMA和HAMD评分显著低于治疗4周后,同组治疗前后比较差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗4、8周后,治疗组患者HAMA和HAMD评分显著低于对照组,两组比较差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论乌灵胶囊联合盐酸安非他酮缓释片治疗老年抑郁症具有较好的临床疗效,能够改善患者HAMD和HAMA评分,安全性较高,值得临床推广应用。     

Surgical site infection following traumatic orthopaedic surgeries in geriatric patients: Incidence and prognostic risk factors

Geriatric population is increasing rapidly worldwide, and fragility fracture and complication following orthopaedic surgery in elderly people have now become major challenges for surgeons. Further studies are required to identify potentially modifiable factors associated with surgical site infection (SSI) in geriatric patients. This retrospective, multicenter study was conducted at four level I hospitals in China. During the 31‐month study period, a total of 2341 patients (65 years or older) underwent orthopaedic surgery and complete data were recorded from September 2015 to April 2018. Demographics information, medications and additional comorbidities, surgery‐related variables, and laboratory indexes were extracted and analysed. Receiver‐operating characteristic analysis was performed to detect the optimum threshold of continuous variables. Independent risk factors of SSI were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses. Finally, 63 patients suffered from wound infection within the follow‐up period, indicating a 2.7% incidence rate of SSI. Statistical results showed that open injury (odds ratio [OR], 9.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.4‐16.7), American Society of Anesthesiologists classified III‐IV score (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.3‐3.8), surgical duration of >132 minutes (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.1‐5.0), serum albumin (ALB) of <36.4 mg/L (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.6‐3.4), and blood glucose (GLU) of >118 mg/dL (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.1‐5.3) were independent risk factors of postoperative SSI. With the application of sensitive and modifiable variables such as surgical duration and the levels of ALB and GLU, more geriatric patients with sub‐high risk of postoperative SSI could be identified.     

Supporting older patients in working on rehabilitation goals: A scoping review of nursing interventions

Background

Nurses are consistently present throughout the rehabilitation of older patients but are apprehensive about performing goal-centred care in the multidisciplinary team.

Objectives

The aim of this review was to explore working interventions on setting goals and working with goals designed for nurses in geriatric rehabilitation, and to describe their distinctive features.

Methods

We performed a scoping review. We searched MEDLINE and CINAHL through August 4, 2021. Search terms related to the following themes: nurses, rehabilitation, geriatric, goal and method. We used snowballing to find additional. From the selected studies, we systematically extracted data on means, materials and the nursing role and summarized them in a narrative synthesis, using intervention component analysis.

Results

The study includes 13 articles, describing 11 interventions which were developed for six different aims: improving multidisciplinary team care; increasing patient centredness; improving disease management by patients; improving the psychological, and emotional rehabilitation; increasing the nursing involvement in rehabilitation; or helping patients to achieve goals. The interventions appeal to four aspects of the nursing profession: assessing self-care skills incorporating patient's preferences; setting goals with patients, taking into account personal needs and what is medically advisable; linking the needs of the patient with multidisciplinary professional treatment and vice versa; and thus, playing an intermediate role and supporting goal achievement.

Conclusions

The interventions show that in goal-centred care, the nurse might play an important unifying role between patients and the multidisciplinary team. With the support of nurses, the patient may become more aware of the rehabilitation process and transfer of ownership of treatment goals from the multidisciplinary team to the patient might be achieved. Not many interventions were found meant to support the nursing role. This may indicate a blind spot in the rehabilitation community to the additional value of its contribution.