Boockvar Kenneth S, Teresi Jeanne A, Inouye Sharon K
The New Jewish Home, New York, New York.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016 May;64(5):1108-13. doi: 10.1111/jgs.14091. Epub 2016 May 10.
Nursing home (NH) residents have a high prevalence of delirium risk factors, experience two to four acute medical conditions (e.g., infections) each year, and have an incidence of delirium during these conditions similar to that of hospitalized older adults. Many NH residents with delirium do not return to their prior level of cognitive function. They are more likely to die, be hospitalized, and less likely to be discharged home than those without delirium. Research on the prevention or treatment of delirium in NHs is limited. This article describes the development and pilot testing of a multicomponent delirium prevention intervention in the NH setting adapted from the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP-LTC). Activities to reduce the risk of delirium that were appropriate for functionally impaired NH residents were developed and delivered during treatment for and recovery from acute illness, a novel resident-targeting approach. Expertly trained certified nursing assistants (CNAs - a total of 1.4 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions-) visited residents throughout the facility and delivered the activities. The current study reports on incident delirium, delirium remission, cognitive and physical function change, hospitalization, and death associated with acute medical conditions as ascertained by a program coordinator. The integration and acceptance of the CNAs' activities by residents and staff are also reported on. Hospitalization and death were ascertained in a nonintervention comparison group. Findings support a test of the intervention in a controlled trial. The potential effect is great; there are approximately 1.4 million NH residents in the United States and an estimated 1 million with dementia or cognitive impairment, an important delirium risk factor. An intervention would be broadly adoptable if a reduction in healthcare costs through prevention of hospitalization offset the cost of the program's CNAs.
养老院居民中谵妄风险因素的患病率很高,每年经历两到四种急性疾病(如感染),并且在这些疾病期间谵妄的发生率与住院老年人相似。许多患有谵妄的养老院居民无法恢复到先前的认知功能水平。与没有谵妄的居民相比,他们死亡、住院的可能性更大,出院回家的可能性更小。关于养老院谵妄预防或治疗的研究有限。本文描述了一项多成分谵妄预防干预措施的开发和试点测试,该措施是在养老院环境中根据医院老年生活计划(HELP-LTC)改编而来。针对功能受损的养老院居民制定了降低谵妄风险的活动,并在急性疾病的治疗和康复期间实施,这是一种新颖的以居民为目标的方法。经过专业培训的认证护理助理(共1.4个全职等效岗位)在整个机构内探访居民并开展这些活动。本研究报告了由项目协调员确定的与急性疾病相关的新发谵妄、谵妄缓解、认知和身体功能变化、住院和死亡情况。还报告了居民和工作人员对护理助理活动的整合和接受情况。在一个非干预对照组中确定了住院和死亡情况。研究结果支持在对照试验中对该干预措施进行测试。潜在影响很大;美国约有140万养老院居民,估计有100万患有痴呆或认知障碍,这是一个重要的谵妄风险因素。如果通过预防住院降低医疗成本能够抵消该项目护理助理的成本,那么这种干预措施将具有广泛的适用性。