The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Oct 2013
Observational StudyThe sequential organ failure assessment score predicts 30-day mortality in a geriatric acute care setting.
Several tools to predict patients' survival have been proposed in medical wards, though they are often time consuming and difficult to apply. The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) is a promising tool that has been validated in intensive care units but never in acute medical wards. The aim of this study was to assess whether the SOFA score predicts short-term (30 days) mortality in a population of elderly patients admitted to a geriatric ward. ⋯ The SOFA score, a user-friendly tool used in intensive care units to estimate prognosis, is able to predict 1-month mortality also in patients admitted to an acute geriatric setting.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Oct 2013
Subsyndromal delirium and its determinants in elderly patients hospitalized for acute medical illness.
In older individuals, acute medical illnesses and admission to hospital are often associated with a deterioration of cognitive status, also in the absence of dementia and full-blown delirium. We evaluated the prevalence of subsyndromal delirium (SSD) and its correlates in a sample of elderly medical inpatients. ⋯ Our data suggest that SSD is common in hospitalized older medical inpatients, and low MMSE score might be useful for identification of participants at risk of SSD. Current inflammatory response and reduced O2 arterial saturation were the only independent determinants of cognitive performance in SSD patients.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Aug 2013
Impaired aerobic capacity and physical functional performance in older heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction: role of lean body mass.
Exercise intolerance is the primary chronic symptom in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF), the most common form of heart failure in older persons, and can result from abnormalities in cardiac, vascular, and skeletal muscle, which can be further worsened by physical deconditioning. However, it is unknown whether skeletal muscle abnormalities contribute to exercise intolerance in HFPEF patients. ⋯ Older HFPEF patients have significantly reduced percent total and leg lean mass and physical functional performance compared with healthy controls. The markedly decreased peak VO2 indexed to lean body mass in HFPEF versus healthy controls suggests that abnormalities in skeletal muscle perfusion and/or metabolism contribute to the severe exercise intolerance in older HFPEF patients.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Jul 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacy of Nintendo Wii training on mechanical leg muscle function and postural balance in community-dwelling older adults: a randomized controlled trial.
Older adults show increased risk of falling and major risk factors include impaired lower extremity muscle strength and postural balance. However, the potential positive effect of biofeedback-based Nintendo Wii training on muscle strength and postural balance in older adults is unknown. ⋯ Biofeedback-based Wii training led to marked improvements in maximal leg muscle strength (maximal voluntary contraction; rate of force development) and overall functional performance in community-dwelling older adults. Unexpectedly, static bilateral postural balance remained unaltered with Wii training. The high level of participant motivation suggests that biofeedback-based Wii exercise may ensure a high degree of compliance to home- and/or community-based training in community-dwelling older adults.
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J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. · Jul 2013
Mobility after hospital discharge as a marker for 30-day readmission.
Little is known about older patient's mobility soon after discharge home from an acute hospitalization. We examined daily postdischarge mobility levels as marker of overall health and response to in-hospital treatment in older medicine patients. ⋯ Mobility level soon after discharge home shows promise as a simple physical biomarker of overall health and risk of 30-day readmission in older patients.