Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
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Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be classified into groups A/C or B/D based on symptom intensity. Different threshold values for symptom questionnaires can result in misclassification and, in turn, different treatment recommendations. The primary aim was to find the best fitting cut-points for Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) symptom measures, with an modified Medical Research Council dyspnea grade of 2 or higher as point of reference. ⋯ The application of these new cut-points would reclassify about one-third of the patients with COPD and, thus, would impact on individual disease management. Further validation in prospective studies of these new values are needed.
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Review Meta Analysis
Frailty and Mortality Outcomes After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Frailty has been identified as a risk factor for mortality. However, whether frailty increases mortality risk in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been controversial. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the frailty measures and mortality outcomes in this setting. ⋯ Frailty leads to significantly higher mortality rates in patients who have undergone PCI. Both the Fried score and Canadian Study of Health and Aging Clinical Frailty Scale are powerful predictors of mortality. These findings may support the notion that an alternative to invasive strategy should be considered in frail patients who are indicated for revascularization.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Cost-Effectiveness of a Proactive Primary Care Program for Frail Older People: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.
A proactive integrated approach has shown to preserve daily functioning among older people in the community. The aim is to determine the cost-effectiveness of a proactive integrated primary care program. ⋯ A proactive screening intervention has a high probability of being cost-effective compared to usual care. The combined intervention showed less value for money.
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There are limited screening tools to predict adverse postoperative outcomes for the geriatric surgical fracture population. Frailty is increasingly recognized as a risk assessment to capture complexity. The goal of this study was to use a short screening tool, the FRAIL scale, to categorize the level of frailty of older adults admitted with a fracture to determine the association of each frailty category with postoperative and 30-day outcomes. ⋯ Frailty, measured by the FRAIL scale, was associated with increase LOS, complications after surgery, and discharge to rehabilitation facility in geriatric fracture patients. The FRAIL scale is a promising short screen to stratify and help operationalize the perioperative care of older surgical patients.
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The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its associated comorbidities increase with age. However, little is understood about differences in the disease in patients over 65 years of age compared with younger patients. ⋯ Despite greater severity of illness, older patients with COPD had better quality of life and reported fewer exacerbations than younger patients. Although this observation needs to be explored further, it may be related to the fact that older patients change their expectations and learn to adapt to their disease.