| 1. |
- Edlund, Agneta, et al.
(författare)
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Delirium before and after operation for femoral neck fracture
- 2001
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Ingår i: Journal of The American Geriatrics Society. - : Wiley. - 0002-8614 .- 1532-5415. ; 49:10, s. 1335-1340
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between preoperative and postoperative delirium regarding predisposing, precipitating factors and outcome in older patients admitted to hospital with femoral neck fractures.DESIGN: A prospective clinical assessment of patients treated for femoral neck fractures.SETTING: Department of orthopedic surgery at Umeå University Hospital, Sweden.PARTICIPANTS: One hundred one patients, age 65 and older admitted to the hospital for treatment of femoral neck fractures.MEASUREMENTS: The Organic Brain Syndrome (OBS) Scale.RESULTS: Thirty patients (29.7%) were delirious before surgery and another 19 (18.8%) developed delirium postoperatively. Of those who were delirious preoperatively, all but one remained delirious postoperatively. The majority of those delirious before surgery were demented, had been treated with drugs with anticholinergic properties (mainly neuroleptics), had had previous episodes of delirium, and had fallen indoors. Patients who developed postoperative delirium had perioperative falls in blood pressure and had more postoperative complications such as infections. Male patients were more often delirious both preoperatively and postoperatively. Patients with preoperative delirium were more often discharged to institutional care and had poorer walking ability both on discharge and after 6 months than did patients with postoperative delirium only.CONCLUSIONS: Because preoperative and postoperative delirium are associated with different risk factors it is necessary to devise different strategies for their prevention.
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| 2. |
- Bergh, Ingrid, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing pain and pain relief in geriatric patients with non-pathological fractures with different rating scales.
- 2001
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Ingår i: Aging (Milan, Italy). - : Kurtis. - 0394-9532. ; 13:5, s. 355-361
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although pain is a frequent problem among elderly patients, they are often omitted in clinical trials and few studies have focused on assessing pain relief in this population. The aim of this study was to compare geriatric patients' verbally reported effect of analgesics with changes in pain experience rated with four different rating scales: the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Graphic Rating Scale (GRS), the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and the Pain Relief Scale (PRS). Altogether 53 geriatric patients (mean=82 yrs) with non-pathological fractures in 4 geriatric units at a large university hospital were selected. In connection with the administration of analgesics, the patients were asked to "Mark the point that corresponds to your experience of pain just now at rest" on the VAS, GRS and NRS. This was repeated after 1.5-2 hours, and a direct question was asked about whether the analgesic medication given in connection with the initial assessment had had any pain-alleviation effect. Two comparisons were conducted with each patient. The results show that the probability of accomplishing a rating on the VAS, GRS, NRS, and PRS was lower with advancing age in these elderly fracture patients. The correlations between the ratings of the VAS, GRS and NRS were strong and significant (r=0.80-0.95; p<0.001) both at the initial assessments and at the re-assessments. However, the verbally reported effects of the analgesics were often directly opposite to the changes in rated pain. Therefore, application of the VAS, NRS, GRS and PRS for the purpose of assessing pain relief must be combined with supplementary questions that allow the patient to verbally describe possible experience of pain relief.
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| 3. |
- Sjöbeck, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Alzheimer's disease and the cerebellum: a morphologic study on neuronal and glial changes
- 2001
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Ingår i: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. - : S. Karger AG. - 1420-8008 .- 1421-9824. ; 12:3, s. 211-218
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Structural manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD) including neuronal loss were investigated in 12 cases of AD and in 10 healthy age-matched controls, with focus on the cerebellum. Linear Purkinje cell (PC) density was measured in the vermis and cerebellar hemispheres. Neurons were also counted in the inferior olivary nucleus. In vermis of the AD cases, the mean PC number was significantly lower (p = 0.019) than in the controls. The neurons in the inferior olive were similarly fewer, though not significantly (p = 0.13). Molecular layer gliosis and atrophy in the vermis was clearly severer in AD than in the controls. Features typical of cerebral Alzheimer encephalopathy (plaques, tangles and microvacuolization) were inconspicious. The structural cerebellar changes in the AD cases were thus neuronal loss, atrophy and gliosis, judged to represent the disease process, and with a main involvement in the vermis. This may be reflected in some of the symptoms and signs seen in AD, signs that are generally overlooked or judged to be of noncerebellar origin.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Andersson, Edith, et al.
(författare)
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Acute confusional state in elderly orthopaedic patients: factors of importance for detection in nursing care
- 2001
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Ingår i: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - 1099-1166. ; 16:1, s. 7-17
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to identify factors of significance in the development of acute confusional state (ACS) and the differences between patients who developed ACS and those who did not. METHOD AND RESULTS: Assessment, observations and interviews with 505 patients admitted to an orthopaedic clinic revealed that 51 patients developed ACS during their in-hospital stay. Patients admitted for hip fracture had a higher incidence of ACS (20.2%) than patients admitted for elective surgery for coxarthros or gonarthros (3.6%). The highest hazard ratio for ACS was several other physical diseases 15.94 (CI: 4.60-55.31 and p-value <0.00001) and the lowest was age 1.10 (CI: 1.04-1.15 and p-value <0.0002). The ACS lasted from 1 to 9 days, and patients had one (N=42), two (N=8) or three episodes (N=1) of confusion during their stay on the ward. More patients who developed ACS before surgery had two or more confusional episodes and emergency patients developed ACS more rapidly. The ACS lasted longer in patients with a higher score on the OBS scale at admittance and with rapid development of ACS. CONCLUSIONS: Acuteness in the situation seems an important risk indication for ACS in the elderly. Awareness of factors associated with the development of ACS makes it possible to more systematically identify those at risk, for instance by systematic assessment in the first interview with the patient on admission to hospital.
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| 6. |
- Hultberg, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Markers for the functional availability of cobalamin/folate and their association with neuropsychiatric symptoms in the elderly
- 2001
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Ingår i: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - : Wiley. - 1099-1166 .- 0885-6230. ; 16:9, s. 873-878
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cobalamin/folate deficiency is common in elderly subjects and may lead to psychiatric symptoms, but even more often it increases the severity of other organic and non-organic mental diseases. This paper reviews the literature relevant for markers of cobalamin/folate status and their relation to neuropsychiatric symptoms in the elderly. Plasma homocysteine, a marker of cobalamin/folate status, is frequently increased in psychogeriatric patients. Among markers of cobalamin/folate status, plasma homocysteine shows the best association with neuropsychiatric dysfunction.
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| 7. |
- Londos, Elisabet, et al.
(författare)
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Neuropathological correlates to clinically defined dementia with Lewy bodies
- 2001
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Ingår i: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - : Wiley. - 1099-1166 .- 0885-6230. ; 16:7, s. 667-679
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To analyse the neuropathological changes behind clinically defined dementia with Lewy bodies (clinDLB) compared with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (clinAD). METHODS: The prevalence of neuropathological findings in 48 clinDLB and 45 clinAD cases was compared. Sixteen clinDLB and 10 clinAD cases were reassessed with alpha-synuclein staining for Lewy bodies (LB). RESULTS: Alzheimer pathology was found in 81% of the clinDLB and 93% of the clinAD cases. The clinDLB group had a higher prevalence of frontal white matter pathology, mostly of ischemic type, and a more severe degeneration of the substantia nigra compared with the clinAD group. In hematoxylin-eosin staining, LBs were identified in seven (15%) of the clinDLB and in four (9%) of the clinAD group. In alpha-synuclein staining, 38% of the clinDLB and 40% of the clinAD cases exhibited LBs. The cases without LBs, in the clinDLB group, had AD pathology in combination with frontal white matter disease. Vascular pathology of significant degree was prevalent in more than 40% of all the cases with verified LBs regardless of clinical diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Consecutive dementia cases, fulfilling the clinical consensus criteria for DLB, may exhibit combinations of neuropathological changes which in themselves can explain the clinical picture of DLB even when LBs are absent.
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| 8. |
- Nilsson, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Improvement of cognitive functions after cobalamin/folate supplementation in elderly patients with dementia and elevated plasma homocysteine
- 2001
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Ingår i: International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. - : Wiley. - 1099-1166 .- 0885-6230. ; 16:6, s. 609-614
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of cobalamin/folate supplementation on cognitive function in elderly patients with dementia. METHOD: The cobalamin/folate status of the patients was evaluated by measuring plasma homocysteine, serum methylmalonic acid, serum cobalamin and blood folate. Thirty-three patients were studied and repeatedly assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and 'A short cognitive performance test for assessing memory and attention' (SKT) during vitamin substitution. RESULTS: Patients with mild-moderate dementia and elevated plasma homocysteine levels improved clinically with increased test scores after vitamin substitution, while severely demented patients and patients with normal plasma homocysteine levels did not improve clinically. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma homocysteine may be the best marker for detecting treatable cobalamin/folate deficiency in patients with dementia.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Vestberg, Susanna, et al.
(författare)
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Early signs of incipient dementia?
- 2001
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Ingår i: International Psychogeriatrics. - 1741-203X. ; 13:Suppl. 2, s. 215-215
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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