Geriatrie et Psychologie Neuropsychiatrie De Vieillissement最新文献

Fall is one of the five main causes of drug-related hospital admissions (DRA) in France. A standardized chart review method, to identify DRA adapted to elderly patients, has recently been developed by Thevelin et al. Our first aim was to assess the reliability of this method for detecting DRA for falls in elderly subjects. Our second aim was to assess the feasibility of this method and to evaluate its reliability for assessing causality, the contribution of DRA to hospitalization, and the avoidability of DRAs in elderly patients hospitalized for a medication-related fall. A retrospective observational study was conducted on 16 patient cases admitted to the hospital for falls in May 2022, in the geriatric department of a French university hospital. Six healthcare professionals (pharmacists, pharmacologists, and geriatricians) assessed a method for detecting DRA individually and then in multidisciplinary pairs of raters. Inter-rater agreement (individually and in pairs) was assessed for DRA detection, causality, avoidability, and contribution of the DRA to hospitalization. A κ > 0,4 was considered a satisfactory threshold for agreement. The mean age was 86 years. When the assessment was done individually, detection of DRA-related hospitalizations (κ = 0,46; p < ,001), and DRA contribution to hospitalization (κ = 0,50; p < ,001) were moderately concordant. The causality assessment (κ = 0,09; p = 0,24) did not agree, and the avoidability assessment (κ = 0,63; p < ,001) agreed substantially. When the evaluation was done in pairs, detection of DRA-related hospitalizations (κ = 0,47; p < ,001) was moderately concordant between pairs. Avoidability assessment (κ = 0,79; p < ,001) concurred substantially. The assessment of causality (κ = 0,29; p = 0,01) and DRA contribution to hospitalization (κ = 0,38; p < .001) agreed fairly well. This study validated, individually and in pairs, the reliability of the method to identify DRA in the context of falls. This method will be of great use in research and epidemiological studies.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by an impairment of episodic memory in the early stages of the disease. Neuropsychological evaluation is performed for diagnostic purposes and to personalize follow-up. However, although many tests have been developed over the last few decades, not all of them seem to be able to meet this dual challenge. Through a review of the evolution of the concept of episodic memory and of knowledge about the disease, we discuss how neuropsychological tools have adapted. We question the interests and limits of existing tools for patients with Alzheimer's disease. At the end of this review, we suggest the criteria to be taken into account in order to propose a more integrative evaluation, able to describe the difficulties encountered as close as possible to the lived experience.

Supporting an elderly person with a neuro-evolutionary disease is a complex task, especially if the person has cognitive problems and lives in a nursing home. Non-drug approaches offer good alternatives to traditional treatment and care. More and more therapies based on theatrical improvisation are being developed to act on psychological health. The aim of this research is to study the effect of participation in theatrical improvisation workshops over a period of 8 weeks on quality of life, self-esteem, depressive symptoms and personal satisfaction in 10 elderly people (Mean = 87.70 years; SD = 2.87 years) with mild cognitive impairment. At the end of the theatre sessions, the participants reported better psychological health. This study provides insights into the development of non-drug mediations for elderly people with neuro-evolutionary diseases.

France is experiencing exceptionally high closures of hospital geriatric beds, which increases the difficulties of access to geriatric care for the oldest and most frail French citizens. The French Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (SFGG) conducted a national survey in January 2023 among French geriatricians and gerontologists with the aim of drawing up an inventory of the closure of hospital geriatric beds in France and the reasons for these closures. The online survey was carried out among the 1,600 members of the SFGG between January 8 and 22, 2023. The results showed that 34.7% of geriatric units were affected by bed closures in January 2023, with 25.7% of beds closed on average. All levels of hospital geriatric sectors were affected by bed closures, but rehabilitation units were the most affected ones. The most frequent reason for bed closures was the lack of nurses, then the lack of physicians, and finally the lack of nursing aids. Reopening dates were not defined in more than 90% of cases. Resolving this crisis will imply recognizing and revaluing geriatric caregivers, both financially and in terms of more appropriate caregiver/patient ratios. These measures are necessary to avoid the bankruptcy of hospitals and to preserve decent, respectful and dignified care for our seniors.

Alzheimer's disease leads to an alteration of decision-making abilities which may increase risk-taking behaviours, particularly associated anosognosia. Anticipating the progression of the disease raises a number of questions, particularly in relation to aging in place. Our qualitative study aimed to identify the arguments used by older patients with Alzheimer's disease when choosing a place to age. The study included 22 older adults, living at home, and diagnosed as mild dementia. The patients' arguments in favour of ageing in place were based mainly on the preservation of internal security, through the familiarity of places and relations as well as the maintenance of their independence and their lifestyle habits, allowing stability in their daily lives. Despite the identification of memory loss, the associated risks were minimized or hidden from the reflection on the choice of the place to age.

The publication of the decree on the care of people with neurocognitive disorders brought to the fore the Reisberg's Global Deterioration Scale, a scale that only few clinicians use in memory centers or in geriatric. This scale has a number of limitations, not least of which is that it is obsolete, since it does not take into account disease advances in scientific knowledge with biomarkers. Consequently, the stages evoked no longer correspond to current descriptions. Moreover, it only concerns Alzheimer's disease, whereas in our practice we encounter other neurodegenerative pathologies. Even if we decide to use another global assessment scale, such as the Clinical Dementia Rating or the Functional Assessment Staging, they cannot replace a personalized assessment. Indeed, it is important to stress that this decree does not take into account the relevance of personalized assessments using, for example, neuropsychological tests to estimate driving ability. A personalized assessment accompanied by a real-life driving test would be preferable than a score on a global scale. This article therefore presents the Global Deterioration Scale, highlighting its unsuitability for assessing whether or not to continue driving.

New ministerial decree restricts driving motorized vehicles for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Reisberg stage 3, threshold used to contraindicate driving, appears to correspond to a mild stage of major neurocognitive impairment. A single scale gives an idea of the level of risk but does not provide a holistic assessment. The aim of this consensus is to put forward recommendations from several French learned societies for individualized cognitive assessments to minimize the risks associated with driving and its cessation. Fitness to drive should be raised at the earliest stages of the diagnostic process, and regularly throughout the follow-up. Consult a registered doctor is recommended to all patients wishing to continue driving. All documents must be given to the patient only. An alternative must always be offered to patients who are recommended a modal shift.

Introduction: Incidentaloma is the result of the medical problem created by the development of imaging. Without a universal definition, incidentaloma describes any incidental finding revealed by a medical examination performed for another indication, and which will be the origin of a questioning intended to give it a clinical meaning. The frequency of incidentalomas is very variable depending on the imaging technique, the organ affected and the definition used. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of incidentalomas on computed tomography (CT) scans in a geriatric hospitalised population.

Methods: In an observational, retrospective, monocentric study, we analysed, for a full year, all the planned CT scans performed, during a hospitalisation in acute and subacute care service of a Parisian geriatric hospital in search of incidentalomas.

Results: 113 patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 87,4 years. The frequency of incidentalomas on CT scans in this population was 53 %, with an average of two incidentalomas per patient. Eight percent of the incidentalomas required further examination, specialist advice or treatment. We found incidentalomas in half of the brain and abdomino-pelvic CT scans and in a quarter of the chest CT scans. Age was not associated with the presence of incidentalomas.

Discussion: Incidentaloma has become an important part of current medical practice. The geriatrician must know how to anticipate it and propose to his patient an adapted management.

Ehpad are French establishments intended to elderly people in a situation of physical and/or psychological loss of autonomy. Institutionalization in Ehpad is often synonymous with the disruption of social ties. In this context, different group activities are likely to favour the residents' relationships. Among these activities, animal mediation is an emerging approach that is gradually being introduced in these establishments. The aim of this research is to study the benefits of animal mediation on the social bond of Ehpad residents, according to animal mediation practitioners and professionals working in these establishments. Semi-directive interviews were carried out with nine professionals working in Ehpad in daily contact with the residents and who had attended collective sessions. These professionals were invited to give their views on the interactions between residents and on the benefits of the sessions. At the same time, fifty animal mediation practitioners responded to a questionnaire aimed at determining the place given to the development of social links in their practices. The professionals working in Ehpad described animal mediation as a practice that facilitates interactions during the sessions but also outside. For residents for whom verbalization is difficult or even impossible, animal mediation is presented as facilitating non-verbal communication. These comments converge with the discourse of animal mediation practitioners who place the creation of social links and the development of social skills at the heart of their practices. They highlight the central role of the animal which facilitates interactions and provides an emotional exchange.