[How "elderly-proof" are the current medical specialist guidelines in the Netherlands?]

Abstract

The prevalence of multimorbidity increases with age, with over 70% of people aged 75 years and over having three or more chronic conditions, often combined with frailty. In current medical practice, evidence-based medicine with evidence-based guidelines forms the basis for treatment. The aim of this study is to determine the practical applicability of the current medical specialist guidelines for the treatment of the heterogeneous group of older patients. All guidelines from the Dutch guidelines database were examined. Twelve guidelines identified as elderly-specific were compared with the recommendations from the 'methodology for the development of guidelines tailored to the elderly'. In 117 guidelines (54%) general terms such as 'older' or 'elderly' were found. An age limit was mentioned in 26 guidelines (12%). The term 'frailty' was mentioned in 38 guidelines (18%), the term 'comorbidity' in 107 (50%) and cognitive problems in eight (4%). Five age-specific guidelines distinguished frail from non-frail older people. Three guidelines discussed relevant outcome measures for the elderly. The results show that the practical applicability of current guidelines is not optimal for the various groups of older people. In our opinion, the improvement of the guidelines preferably by implementation of the Dutch methodology for senior-proof guidelines is a necessary first step in making the current second-line evidence-based guidelines in the Netherlands usable for the growing group of frail and multimorbid elderly.