Multidisciplinary decision-making and course of treatment in older patients with colorectal cancer: Effect of geriatrician input.

Introduction: We evaluated the effect of the inclusion of a geriatrician in the multidisciplinary cancer team (MDT) on decision-making for chemotherapy with curative intent in older patients with colorectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: We audited all patients aged 70 years and older with colorectal cancer discussed at MDT meetings between January 2010 and July 2018; selection was limited to those patients for whom guidelines recommended chemotherapy with curative intent as part of the primary treatment. We assessed how treatment decisions came about, and what the course of treatment was in the period before (2010-2013) and after (2014-2018) the geriatrician joined the MDT meetings.

Factors associated with survival in older patients with stage I-III colorectal carcinoma who were not managed curatively in the Netherlands.

Aim: Some patients with stage I-III colorectal cancer (CRC) do not undergo tumor resection. Little is known about survival of these non-curatively managed patients. The aim of this study is to report all-cause mortality and to identify which factors are associated with survival in these patients.

Functional decline after surgery in older patients with head and neck cancer.

Introduction: In addition to classical endpoints such as survival and complication rates, other outcomes such as quality of life and functional status are increasingly recognized as important endpoints, especially for elderly patients. However, little is known about the long-term effect of surgery with regard to these other outcomes. Our aim is to investigate the functional status and self-reported health status of patients ≥ 70 years one year after surgery for head and neck cancer.

Anticholinergic drug exposure at intensive care unit admission affects the occurrence of delirium. A prospective cohort study.

Background: Anticholinergic drugs may increase the risk of delirium in non-critically ill patients, but it is unclear whether exposure to these drugs is also a risk factor for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) delirium. In this study the hypothesis was tested that anticholinergic drug exposure at ICU admission increases the risk to develop delirium during ICU stay, particularly in patients with advanced age and severe sepsis.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed in the mixed 32-bed medical-surgical ICU of the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands in the period from January 2011 till June 2013.

Geriatric assessment in older patients with a hematologic malignancy: a systematic review.

The aim of this systematic review is to give an update of all currently available evidence on the relevance of a geriatric assessment in the treatment of older patients with hematologic malignancies. A systematic search in MEDLINE and EMBASE was performed to find studies in which a geriatric assessment was used to detect impaired geriatric domains or to address the association between geriatric assessment and survival or clinical outcome measures. The literature search included 4,629 reports, of which 54 publications from 44 studies were included.

Development of a self-reported version of the G8 screening tool.

Introduction: The G8 is a widely used frailty screening tool in patients with cancer that was designed to be completed by healthcare professionals. A patient-reported version would enable a broader application. Aim of this study was to develop a self-reported version of the G8 and to assess its agreement with the original G8.

Prevalence of hyponatremia on geriatric wards compared to other settings over four decades: a systematic review.

Aim of the study was to analyze temporal trends in prevalence of hyponatremia over four decades in different settings. A systematic review of the literature from 1966 to 2009 yielded prevalences of hyponatremia, with standard errors (SE) and pooled estimated means (PEM), calculated by year and setting (geriatric, ICU, other hospital wards, psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, outpatients). 53 studies were included.

[Fever, malaise and eosinophilia after consumption of raw fish in Italy: infection by a liver fluke (Opisthorchis felineus)].

Background: Infection by a liver fluke (trematode) is rare in Western Europe, but recently a few outbreaks caused by this parasite have been described after consumption of raw freshwater fish caught in Italy.

Case Description: A 35-year-old Dutch woman presented with fever, without localising symptoms. Laboratory tests showed pronounced eosinophilia.