Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Early experience with dobutamine stress testing and cardiac cine-tomographic imaging in the elderly: antianginal effects of nifedipine-GITS.
To determine the effects of nifedipine-GITS (GITS = gastrointestinal transport system) on angina and cardiovascular responses to stress-dobutamine infusion, we used ultrafast cine-computed tomography (CT) to assess regional wall motion, myocardial perfusion, and indices of ventricular filling and emptying. ⋯ These data suggest that (1) dobutamine stress can be used to induce cardiac ischemia in elderly patients with coronary artery disease, (2) nifedipine-GITS provides symptomatic angina relief in elderly patients, (3) peripheral edema is frequent in elderly patients on nifedipine-GITS, and (4) ultrafast computed cine-tomography testing can be used to assess ventricular performance, but current methodology may not detect perfusion or wall motion abnormalities during angina.
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To prospectively study the incidence of and risk factors for home health care (HHC) use in a cohort of elderly medical and surgical patients discharged from acute care. Although HHC is commonly received by patients in this group, its predictors have not been well studied. ⋯ HHC use is common among elderly patients after discharge from acute care. A simple predictive model based on four risk factors can be used on admission to predict HHC use. This model may be useful for discharge planning and health care utilization planning for the elderly population.
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To evaluate the association between noise, light, nursing care practices, and nighttime awakenings in incontinent nursing home residents. ⋯ The data reported in this paper document that general environmental noise and incidents of nursing care practices, particularly those related to incontinence care, are responsible for a substantial amount of the sleep fragmentation that is common among nursing home residents.
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Comparative Study
Hospital resources used to treat the injured elderly at North Carolina trauma centers.
The purpose of this paper is to compare the hospital resources used by elderly, adult, and pediatric patients treated in hospitals reporting to the North Carolina Trauma Registry (NCTR). ⋯ A 10% reduction in both transportation injuries and falls among the elderly could save $3.5 million in this population over 3 years.