Can P1NP levels influence management planning for patients with a fragility hip fracture receiving anti-resorptive medications?
Introduction: Procollagen-N-terminal-peptide(P1NP) is a bone formation marker. Bisphosphonates lead to a reduction in P1NP levels and levels are significantly elevated shortly after fracture. In older patients taking bisphosphonates who have had a further osteoporotic fracture there is a lack of evidence to guide ongoing osteoporotic management. Objectives: To assess if measuring P1NP in patients receiving Bisphosphonates treatment who develop neck of femur fractures helps guide further management in regards to long term bone protection treatment. Methodology: Retrospective descriptive cohort
A cross-sectional study exploring the treatment burden in people with Parkinson's and their caregivers
Introduction Treatment burden is the workload of healthcare and its impact on patient well-being and functioning. High treatment burden in other long-term conditions is associated with poor health outcomes. This study aimed to determine the extent and levels of treatment burden among people with Parkinson’s (PwP) and their caregivers, and explore modifiable factors. Methods A cross-sectional survey using the Multimorbidity Treatment Burden Questionnaire (MTBQ) to measure treatment burden was conducted among adults (age >18 years) diagnosed with Parkinson’s or self-identified caregivers of
Using the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT) to prioritise frail inpatients for Anticipatory Care Planning
Introduction Patients with frailty who have emergency admissions are at risk of mortality and may benefit from Anticipatory Care Planning (ACP). Appropriate identification, to target limited resource in an in-patient environment can be challenging. We conducted a prospective study on a cohort of frail in-patients with a hospital admission of ≥ 72 hours duration. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the SPICT tool alongside Clinical Frailty Score (CFS) as a predictor of mortality to improve our targeting of patients for ACP. Method. On a single day a SPICT form was completed prospectively
Virtual Frailty Ward - Post Discharge Frailty Support (PDFS)
Background: In response to the COVID pandemic when new robust discharge criteria were introduced to facilitate early discharge to optimise hospital capacity, Post Discharge Frailty Support (PDFS) was established. PDFS provides nurse-led telephone follow-up for patients discharged primarily from the Emergency Department (ED) and the Acute Frailty Assessment Unit (AFAU). Objectives: We aim to provide continuity of care by following up frail elderly patients at home, reviewing their medical, functional and social progress post discharge and ensuring they received adequate support to avoid
Palliative Care Movement Disorders Multidisciplinary Meeting
Introduction It is well recognised that patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have significant symptom burden in advanced stages of their disease. Integration of movement disorder and palliative care services has been limited by concerns about resource and sustainability. We present our experience of establishing a movement disorders palliative care multidisciplinary meeting. Method In 2019 we established a multidisciplinary virtual bimonthly meeting between movement disorders and palliative care specialists. Referrals were accepted from movement disorder specialists, community Parkinson’s
Postural hypotension Quality Improvement Project– How good we are in measuring it?
Introduction: A large proportion of Morriston Hospital’s acute medical take consists of elderly patients admitted with falls. Postural hypotension is a cause of syncope and fall which contributes to morbidity, disability and death in cases of injury in the frail and elderly population 1. Hence, diagnosing and treating postural hypotension is crucial. It is important that the measurement of lying-standing blood pressure (LSBP) is consistent to ensure reliability of results as this would affect patients’ management. The aim of this project is to assess how postural hypotension is diagnosed in
Do Not Attempt Conversations Pre Rehearsal: Teaching Medical Students to Have DNACPR Conversations.
The Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) form is widely adopted to document advanced care plans, including Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions. Communication between clinicians and patients, or next of kin is required for completion. It is widely documented UK medical students have little exposure to these experiences, including being asked to leave whilst they are occurring. During the COVID19 pandemic, Foundation Year 1 (FY1) doctors led discussions with increased frequency and autonomy, with no documented concurrent training. We present a novel
Frailty, loneliness and social isolation in the UK Biobank cohort
Background : Three challenges for ageing populations are frailty (a state of reduced physiological reserve), social isolation (objective lack of social connections), and loneliness (subjective experience of feeling alone). These are associated with adverse outcomes. This study aims to examine how frailty in combination with loneliness or social isolation is associated with all-cause mortality and hospitalisation rate using data from UK Biobank, a large population-based research cohort. Methods: 502,456 UK Biobank participants were recruited 2006-2010. Baseline data assessed frailty (via two
Proactive Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment for Care Home Residents Living with Frailty
Introduction: Frailty is a long term condition with potentially significant associated healthcare costs and resource usage. The gold standard evidence based intervention is a comprehensive geriatric assessment. The NHS Long Term Plan highlights the importance of ageing well and developing proactive services in the community. Care home residents often have unmet health and social care needs, and are frequently frail. Methods: 59 patients with severe or very severe frailty (Rockwood clinical frailty score 7 or 8) across three care homes with both residential and nursing provision were reviewed
A retrospective analysis of vertebral fragility fracture hospitalisation of older adults in England over a 3 year period
Introduction Vertebral fragility fractures (VFF) are the most common osteoporotic fracture. VFF can result in significant pain requiring hospitalisation. However, there is little data on patient numbers, hospital bed days and costs, contributed to by these patients. Methodology We report a retrospective analysis of patients aged 55 years and over admitted to hospitals across England from 2017-2019. ICD-10 classifications for VFF and OPCS codes were used to identify admissions and patients who had undergone vertebral augmentation (VA). Results There were a total of 99,240 patients (61% Female)
Applying the National Standards of Perioperative care of Older People undergoing emergency laparotomy (NELA)
Title: Care of Older People undergoing emergency surgery: meeting the standards of the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) Introduction: There are well documented in-equalities for outcomes for surgical intervention 1,2,3 associated with Age and Frailty including emergency laparotomy 4. NELA data has shown over half of such patients are over 65 years old about one fifth are over 80. These patients having significantly higher mortality, longer hospital stays and it has also shown frailty to be an independent marker of poor outcomes. Through application of key standards these outcomes
Anticholinergic prescribing habits and its associations in a community population of people living with dementia.
Introduction: Many commonly prescribed medications have inadvertent anticholinergic effects. People living with Dementia (PLWD) are vulnerable to these effects and at risk of adverse outcomes, the risk being higher with greater anticholinergic exposure. We investigated prescribing patterns and anticholinergic burden (ACB) in a cohort of community-dwelling PLWD and explored the effect of ACB on cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, quality of life (QoL), and functional independence. Method: The medication and demographic information for 87 (39 female) community-dwelling PLWD were obtained from
Feasibility of a Pharmacist-led InterVentiOn for aTriAl fibriLlation in Long-term care: The PIVOTALL study
Introduction: Older people in care homes with atrial fibrillation (AF) have complex health needs and would benefit from taking part in research. This study assessed the feasibility of pharmacist implementation of the Atrial Fibrillation Better Care (ABC: Anticoagulation; Better symptoms; Cardiovascular comorbidity management) pathway, and collection of an AF-specific, resident-centred outcome. Methods: Older residents (aged ≥65 years) with AF were recruited from care homes within Liverpool and Sefton and randomised to receive the pharmacist intervention, or continue their existing treatment
Managing the deteriorating patient in a rehabilitation hospital: the role of treatment escalation planning
Introduction: The pandemic has shown how vital patient-centred treatment escalation planning (TEP) is for older people. Locally we have seen inappropriate transfer of dying patients to acute hospitals from rehabilitation units. Mortality review found a lack of useful TEPs in these cases. Baseline data in our rehabilitation hospital showed 54% of patients had a TEP and 16% a decision made about repatriation during acute illness. We aimed to increase the proportion of patients in this setting with a TEP to 80% over six months. Methods: A multidisciplinary team of doctors, ANPs and senior nurses
Development of a M&M meeting intergrating the Situational Judgement Review (SJR) framework in a Geriatric Department
The National Mortality Case Record Review Programme commissioned in 2016 aimed to improve the learning from deaths process. As part of this aim, several reports were published, which identified barriers in implementing the mortality review process. Mortality and Morbidity (M&M) meetings can be an important mechanism for removing these barriers, and while have been in place for a long time in surgical specialties, are only recently becoming more common in medical specialties. We have developed an innovative M&M meeting in our geriatric department to integrate Mortality case reviews with
LONG-TERM MORBIDITY AND SOCIAL OUTCOMES IN FRAIL ELDERLY PATIENTS AT ONE-YEAR POST-EMERGENCY LAPAROTOMY
Objective: Frailty patients undergoing emergency laparotomy (EmLap) experienced increased perioperative morbidity and mortality. We aim to explore the association between frailty scoring in EmLap older adults (>65 years) and 1-year post-operative morbidity and social care changes. Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed on the Emergency Laparotomy and Laparoscopic Scottish Audit (ELLSA) database (2018-2019). Older adults with completed preoperative scoring markers (National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) and Rockwood Frailty Score (RFS)) were included. ‘Frail’ was defined as RFS>3 and
Assessment and management of frailty: A survey of healthcare professionals
Introduction By 2030, it is estimated that 25% of Europeans will be aged over 65.[Dugarova;UNDevelopmentProgramme;2017] Frailty in this group is a key contributor to poorer outcomes.[Eamer;BMCAnesthesiology;2017;17:99] The term is common in healthcare but research into the issues faced by staff around assessment and management of frailty has been limited. We undertook a survey to identify challenges faced in providing care to those living with frailty and considered potential interventions. Method The survey was across three hospitals in our health board (which serves a population of around
A teaching programme to improve rates of delirium screening on the medical take
Introduction NICE Clinical Guideline CG103 states that adults aged 65 and older should be screened for delirium within 48 hours of emergency hospital admission. The Geriatric Medicine Research Collaborative (GeMRC)'s World Delirium Day data from 2019 showed an average screening rate of 27% nationally. After an inpatient fall on the Medical Assessment Unit resulted in hip fracture for a patient who had not been screened for delirium with the recommended 4 A's Test (4AT), we decided to collect data on screening rates and devised a way of improving these. Method Baseline data was collected
A SURVEY TO ASSESS REHAB THERAPY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE MDT
BACKGROUND Physical rehabilitation is related to better surgical and medical outcomes for patients (WHO, 2021). In hospitals, the role of the rehab team is essential to promote faster and better recovery and to prevent falls (Brett et al., 2019). We wanted to review the communication between the rehab, nursing, and medical team to aid discharge planning. Better communication can reduce repetition. METHODS A baseline survey was given to doctors, nurses, and rehab staff in a geriatric ward to review communication. The intervention was an A4 template highlighting the patients’ baseline and
Quality Improvement Programme on Non-Medicinal Management of Postural Hypotension among MDT members in the Medical Wards (COE)
Introduction: Postural Hypotension is a very common presentation in the elderly population. Appropriate knowledge to record postural hypotension & non-medicinal management for this is very important among MDT members working in the care of the elderly wards. Method: We set out a questionnaire to assess the knowledge among MDT ( multidisciplinary) members. An educational programme was initiated to improve the knowledge among MDT members. A complete audit cycle was done and the knowledge was reassessed with the same questionnaire based on the principles of the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study & Act) cycle