Effectiveness of advance care planning programmes in improving end-of-life outcomes for individuals with dementia and their caregivers in nursing homes: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: With advances in medicine and the resultant increased ageing population, dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, has become a leading cause of death in individuals aged over 65 years in nursing homes. The unpredictable trajectory of the disease, marked by cognitive and functional decline, necessitates intensive healthcare and poses challenges to end-of-life (EoL) care decisions, particularly because majority of the affected individuals become unable to make their own decisions. This highlights the importance of advance care planning (ACP) programmes that enable individuals with dementia to define and communicate their EoL care decisions in advance.

Exploring Healthcare Providers' Difficulties and Strategies when Caring for Community-Dwelling People With Dementia Who are at Risk of Getting Lost.

Caring for patients with dementia at risk of getting lost is challenging for community healthcare providers. Through semi-structured interviews with 25 participants, we examined the challenges faced by these providers and the strategies they employed. We identified the following themes of challenging parts: (a) the disturbance caused by behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia; (b) difficulty in helping older family caregivers to keep the patient from going out; (c) difficulty in changing the attitudes of the family members; families' unawareness of the risk of getting lost.

Frailty in Older Adults with Dengue Fever.

Dengue is one of the most common epidemic infections around the world. Dengue infections in older adults are related to an atypical presentation and a high mortality. Frailty is associated with poor recovery from hospitalization due to infection.

Effects of Advance Care Planning on End-of-Life Indicators for Nursing Home Residents-An Experimental Study with a Retrospective Chart Review.

Advance care planning (ACP) has the potential to improve the outcomes of end-of-life care for residents in nursing homes. The aim of this study was to determine whether an ACP program was beneficial for nursing home residents by assessing end-of-life indicators. An experimental study with a retrospective chart review was conducted.

Novel Prediction Score for Arterial-Esophageal Fistula in Patients with Esophageal Cancer Bleeding: A Multicenter Study.

Purpose: To develop and internally validate a novel prediction score to predict the occurrence of arterial-esophageal fistula (AEF) in esophageal cancer bleeding.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled patients with esophageal cancer bleeding in the emergency department. The primary outcome was the diagnosis of AEF.

Effects of an integrated ambulatory care program on healthcare utilization and costs in older patients with multimorbidity: a propensity score-matched cohort study.

Background: Population aging has increased the prevalence of multimorbidity, jeopardizing the sustainability and efficiency of healthcare systems. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of an integrated ambulatory care program (IACP) on healthcare utilization and costs among older patients with multimorbidity while accounting for the confounding effects of frailty.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study using propensity matching including patients aged 65 or older with two or more chronic conditions attending the outpatient clinic at our hospital between June 1 and December 31, 2019, was conducted.

Effectiveness of an Integrated Ambulatory Care Program in Health Care and Medication Use in Patients With Multimorbidity and Polypharmacy.

Background And Objectives: Multimorbidity increases risks, such as polypharmacy, inappropriate prescription, and functional decline. It also increases medical care utilization by older adults, placing a burden on health care systems. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an integrated ambulatory care program for health care and medication use in patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy.

Effectiveness of outpatient geriatric evaluation and management intervention on survival and nursing home admission: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: The benefit of inpatient comprehensive geriatric assessment on patient survival and function has been demonstrated among frail older patients. However, the influence of outpatient geriatric evaluation and management (GEM) on clinical outcomes remains debated. This study aimed to update the research evidence detailing the effect of outpatient GEM on survival and nursing-home admission through a comparison with conventional care.

Ranking of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia among the leading causes of death in the US varies depending on NCHS or WHO definitions.

Introduction: We compared the ranking of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) among the leading causes of death (LCODs) between those according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) lists by sex.

Method: The number of deaths in each LCOD category was obtained from CDC WONDER.

Results: According to the WHO list, ADRD was the second LCOD from 2005 to 2013, the first from 2014 to 2020, and the third in 2021, respectively, for women and was the second in 2018 and 2019, the third in 2020, and the fourth in 2021, respectively, for men.

Fear of falling as a potential complication of Ramsay Hunt syndrome in older adults: a case report.

Background: Fear of falling (FOF) is a common and major health concern in older adults. The consequences of FOF include reduced physical performance, social activity, and health-related quality of life. Ramsay Hunt syndrome (RHS) is a herpes zoster-related facial nerve dysfunction accompanied by an erythematous vesicular rash on the ear or mouth that may complicate ipsilateral facial paralysis and otalgia, vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and meningoencephalitis.

Higher reinfection rate after two-stage revision arthroplasty in patients with refractory diabetes mellitus: a retrospective analysis with a minimum ten-year follow up.

Background: Treatment protocols for two-stage revision arthroplasty with diabetes mellitus (DM) have not yet been established. The control of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in two-stage revision arthroplasty is still debated. This study aimed to clarify the importance of preoperative HbA1c levels before each stage of revision arthroplasty and to analyze the risk factors for reinfection.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Physical Resilience Instrument for Older Adults (PRIFOR).

Background: Physical resilience is known to minimize the adverse outcomes of health stressors for older people. However, validated instruments that assess physical resilience in older adults are rare. Therefore, we aimed to validate the Physical Resilience Instrument for Older Adults (PRIFOR) to fill the literature gap.

Factors associated with early 14-day unplanned hospital readmission: a matched case-control study.

Background/purpose: Early unplanned hospital readmissions are burdensome health care events and indicate low care quality. Identifying at-risk patients enables timely intervention. This study identified predictors for 14-day unplanned readmission.

Prevalence and related factors of do-not-resuscitate directives among nursing home residents in Taiwan.

Objectives: To report the prevalence of Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) directives and to explore the factors associated with the presence of DNR directives among nursing home residents in Taiwan.

Design: A cross-sectional, correlation study.

Setting: Seven nursing homes in southern Taiwan.