COTE Flashcards
(63 cards)
What are risk factors for falls?
- Motor problems: gait/balance
- Sensory impairment
- Cognitive/mood impairment: dementia, delirium
- Orthostatic hypotension
- Polypharmacy
- Drugs (sedatives, alcohol))
- Environmental hazards: poor lighting
- Incontinence
- Fear of falling
Causes of falling in the elderly
- Drugs (sedative, alcohol)
- MSK eg OA of the hip
- Syncope (vasovagal, cardiogenic, arrhythmias)
- Stroke/TIA
- Hypoglycaemia
- Visual impairment
- Dementia
- Poor environment
What is hyperactive delirium?
Characterised by being highly alert and uncooperative
What is hypoactive delirium?
More common, you sleep more and become inattentive and disorganised with daily task you might miss meals or appointments
Clinical features of delirium
- Globally impaired cognition, perception and consciousness which develops over hours/days
- Marked memory deficit
- Disordered or disorientated thinking
- Reversal of the sleep-wake cycle
- Tactile or visual hallucinations
Risk factors of delirium
> 65
- Dementia/previous cognitive
- Impairment
- Hip fracture
- Acute illness
- Psychological agitation (eg pain)
Causes of delirium
PINCH ME Pain Infection (systemic or intracranial) Nutrition (thiamine, nicotinic acid or B12 def) Constipation> Retention Hydration Metabolism/medication (uraemia, liver failure, Na, glucose) (withdrawal) Environment Surgery/post GA Vascular (stroke, MI) Hypoxia (resp or cardiac failure)
What tests do you do with someone you suspect to be delirius?
Look for cause (eg UTI, pneumonia, MI)
- FBC, U&E, LFT, glucose, ABG, septic screen (urine dipstick, CXR, blood cultures), malaria film, ECg, CT, EEG
- Look for increased calcium
- Haemantics (B12 and folate)
- INR
Management of delirium
- Treat underlying cause
- Reorientate patient
- Encourage visits from family and friends
- Try no tot move around wards much
- Monitor fluid
- Mobilise and encourage activity
- Practice sleep regime
- Avoid or remove catheteres, IV cannula
- Watch out for infection
- Review medication
- Avoid medication if possible, IM haloperidol, BDZ if needed
What are the 3 main features of Parkinson’s?
- Resting tremor
- Bradykinesia
- Rigidity (cog-wheel)
What is the tremor like in Parkinson’s?
- Pill rolling (slow)
- Worse at rest
- Asymmetrical
- Reduced on distraction
- Reduced on movement
Underlying pathophysiology of Parkinson’s
Loss of dopaminergic neurones in substantia nigra
What class of drugs is normally combined with L-Dopa to prevent peripheral side effects?
- L-dopa carboxylase inhibitor (carbidopa or benzeraide)
Complications of L-dopa therapy
- Postural hypotension on starting treatment
- Confusion
- hallucinations
- L-dopa induced dyskinesias
- On-off effect: fluctuations in motor performance between normal function (on) and restricted mobility (off)
- Shortening duration of action of each dose (ie end dose deterioration, where dyskinesias become more prominent at the end of the duration of action
Define dementia
A chronic progressive illness, which is irreversible. There is preserved attention and consciousness with no underlying medical cause.
Describe delirium
Acute onset, fluctuating course, inattention, altered level of consciousness, usually reversible, associated with underlying medi al condition
Vascular Dementia
- Step wise progression
- Caused by problems with the blood supply to the brain
Alzheimer’s Dementia
- Most common type, progressive
- Loss of ability to learn, process and retain new information
- Looks atrophic on CT/MRI
- 5 ‘a’s- amnesia
aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, apathy
Pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s Dementia
- Neurofibrillary tangle
- Loss of neurones
- Aggregation of beta-amyloid plaques
Management of Alzheimer’s
- CT/MRI- atrophic
- Supportive
- AChE inhibitors (Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Galatine)
- Memantine
What is a ‘Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment’ designed to do?
- Identify health problems and establish a management plan in older patient with frailty
What domains are taken into account in the CGA?
- Physical health
- Mental health
- Social aspects
- Functional aspects
- Environment
Who are involved in the CGA?
- Geriatrician
- Nurses
- Pharmacist
- OT
- Physio
- SALT
- Dietician
- Social worker
etc
Complications of a long lie following a fall?
- Pressure ulcers
- Dehydration
- Rhabdomyolysis - results from death of muscle fibres and release contents into blood stream- leads to kidney failure