Revista española de geriatría y gerontología
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Rev Esp Geriatr Gerontol · Jul 2013
Case Reports[Phantom limb pain syndrome: therapeutic approach using mirror therapy in a Geriatric Department].
The clinical use of mirror visual feedback was initially introduced to alleviate phantom pain by restoring motor function through plastic changes in the human primary motor cortex. It is a promising novel technique that gives a new perspective to neurological rehabilitation. Using this therapy, the mirror neuron system is activated and decrease the activity of those systems that perceive protopathic pain, making somatosensory cortex reorganization possible. This paper reports the results of the mirror therapy in three patients with phantom limb pain after recent lower limb amputation, showing its analgesic effects and its benefits as a comprehensive rehabilitation instrument for lower limb amputee geriatric patients.
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Rev Esp Geriatr Gerontol · May 2013
Review[Subsyndromal delirium in elderly patients: a systematic review].
In this systemic review, the articles published between 1990 and November 2012 on subsyndromal delirium (SSD), and specifically those with reference to geriatric patients, were analysed. In SSD, symptoms from the three nuclear domains of delirium (cognitive, circadian and higher order thinking) are simultaneously present, with mild to moderate severity. ⋯ Regardless of the criteria used for diagnosis, SSD is persistently associated with poor functional and cognitive outcome, longer hospital stay, institutionalisation, and increased mortality. Studies are needed on the physiopathology, treatment and prevention in the field of SSD, which is a particularly important clinical condition in geriatric patients.
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Rev Esp Geriatr Gerontol · Jul 2012
Review[Polypharmacy in frail elderly patients: is deprescribing the answer?].
Deprescribing is the process of reconstructing multiple medication use by review and analysis and which concludes with dose modification, replacement or elimination of some drugs or adding others. Its development is intended to resolve tensions and contradictions between two sets of questions: 1/is life expectancy shorter than the time the drug takes to obtain a benefit?, and 2/are the goals of prescribing-deprescribing consistent with those of care? The validity of the rationale on deprescribing is based on scientific and ethical reasons. The usefulness and safety of many drugs that frail elderly or terminally ill takes is unknown, and other drugs may cause troublesome or severe side effects. Thus, in some cases their removal could be justified, being substantially safe doing so.
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To determine the prevalence of dysphagia in a population of institutionalised elderly people, and the effectiveness of a clinical method for its detection. ⋯ The diagnosis of dysphagia in this sample of institutionalised elderly people increases when applying a clinical method for detection, reaching a prevalence similar to other studies.