Geriatric Trauma Screening Tool: Preinjury Functional Status Dictates Intensive Care Unit Discharge Disposition.

Older adults account for an increasing percentage of trauma patients and have worse outcomes when compared with younger populations. Simple prediction tools are needed to designate risk categories among these patients. The Geriatric Trauma Screening Tool (GTST) was developed to risk stratify older adults admitted to the ICU at a Level 1 trauma center.

Issues in Geriatric Care: Medical Decision-Making.

Medical decision-making capacity (DMC), which is determined by clinicians, is the ability of patients to understand information about options for their care, express a choice among those options, appreciate the benefits and risks of those options, and explain the reasoning behind their particular choice. DMC differs from competence, which is a legal concept concerning the mental ability of individuals to be responsible for their decisions and actions. A variety of instruments can be used to assess DMC.

Issues in Geriatric Care: Alzheimer Disease.

Alzheimer disease (AD) occurs in 8.8% of older US adults and is the sixth leading cause of death among older adults. Medicare annual wellness visits require screening for cognitive impairment but do not specify screening methods.

Issues in Geriatric Care: Falls.

One in three older adults falls each year. There are approximately 2.5 million falls among older adults treated in emergency departments.

Issues in Geriatric Care: Maintaining Health and Vigor.

Medicare covers annual wellness visits that are scheduled separately from regular medical appointments. These visits focus on prevention and health maintenance to help patients achieve successful aging, which is defined as living to old age without disability while also maintaining high physical and psychological levels of functioning and social engagement. To achieve these goals, most adults should perform at least 150 min/week of moderate-intensity exercise and maintain an optimal body mass index (ie, 23 to 32 kg/m).

Care of Patients at the End of Life: Surrogate Decision Making for Incapacitated Patients.

Competence is determined by a court of law, whereas physicians determine medical decision-making capacity (DMC). When patients lack DMC, a surrogate should be identified to make decisions. Ideally, patients will have created a durable power of attorney for health care.

Care of Patients at the End of Life: Advance Care Planning.

Advance directives are legal documents that give instructions about how to provide care when patients develop life-threatening illnesses and can no longer communicate their wishes. Two types of documents are widely used-a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care. Most states also authorize physician orders for life-sustaining treatment.

Care of Patients at the End of Life: Management of Nonpain Symptoms.

Management of nonpain symptoms can improve quality of life for patients at the end of life and their family members. Constipation is the most common nonpain symptom. It can be related to opioid therapy and/or medical conditions.

Care of Patients at the End of Life: Pharmacotherapeutic Management of Pain.

End-of-life care often involves management of pain. A patient's pain should be assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale, which uses a 0 to 10 score, with 0 indicating no pain and 10 the worst pain imaginable. Mild pain typically is managed with nonopioids (eg, acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

Placement of nasoenteral feeding tubes using external magnetic guidance.

Background: Enteral feeding is preferred over parenteral methods, and feeding into the duodenum is preferred over gastric feeding in certain groups of critically ill patients. However, with current techniques, feeding tubes often coil in the stomach, exposing patients to the risk of aspiration. This study investigated whether a nasoenteral feeding tube can be guided beyond the pyloric sphincter, using external magnetic guidance.