COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND FALLS IN THE OLDER ADULT POPULATION: INCIDENCE AND OUTCOMES IN A LEVEL ONE TRAUMA CENTER

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Churchill, C. (2014). COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND FALLS IN THE OLDER ADULT POPULATION: INCIDENCE AND OUTCOMES IN A LEVEL ONE TRAUMA CENTER. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Cognitive impairment has been found to be associated with an increased risk of falls among older adults. The aim of this study was to compare in-hospital outcomes such as time-to-surgery, complications, length of stay, intensive care utilization, post-operative mobility and discharge disposition of older adults presenting with or without cognitive impairment who underwent surgical treatment for a low energy hip fracture. We identified 255 patients (women > 55 years, men > 60 years) with hip fracture treated during an 18-month period (5/2/11-11/29/12) while patient demographic and hospitalization data were examined. During the 18-month period, 30% presented with a diagnosis consistent with cognitive impairment (e.g. dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body, vascular dementia). Complication rates were higher among the cognitively-impaired patients versus those without cognitive impairment (p=0.0647). Moreover, 31% of cognitively-impaired patients experienced delirium compared to 14% of those without cognitive impairment (p=0.001), while 23% of cognitively-impaired patients had urinary tract infections (UTI) compared to 9% among those without cognitive impairment (p=0.002). There was no difference in the overall inpatient complication rates between both categories; however, cognitively-impaired patients were more likely to experience complications such as delirium and UTI. Based on these findings, we recommend systematic assessment of cognitive status on admission and identification of cognitive impairment. The recognition of the most common complications will allow clinicians to create focused clinical pathways to help decrease complications in cognitively-impaired

Details
Author

Churchill, Christine

Title

COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND FALLS IN THE OLDER ADULT POPULATION: INCIDENCE AND OUTCOMES IN A LEVEL ONE TRAUMA CENTER

Physical Description

1 online resource (30 pages) : PDF

Date

2014

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Cognitive impairment has been found to be associated with an increased risk of falls among older adults. The aim of this study was to compare in-hospital outcomes such as time-to-surgery, complications, length of stay, intensive care utilization, post-operative mobility and discharge disposition of older adults presenting with or without cognitive impairment who underwent surgical treatment for a low energy hip fracture. We identified 255 patients (women > 55 years, men > 60 years) with hip fracture treated during an 18-month period (5/2/11-11/29/12) while patient demographic and hospitalization data were examined. During the 18-month period, 30% presented with a diagnosis consistent with cognitive impairment (e.g. dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body, vascular dementia). Complication rates were higher among the cognitively-impaired patients versus those without cognitive impairment (p=0.0647). Moreover, 31% of cognitively-impaired patients experienced delirium compared to 14% of those without cognitive impairment (p=0.001), while 23% of cognitively-impaired patients had urinary tract infections (UTI) compared to 9% among those without cognitive impairment (p=0.002). There was no difference in the overall inpatient complication rates between both categories; however, cognitively-impaired patients were more likely to experience complications such as delirium and UTI. Based on these findings, we recommend systematic assessment of cognitive status on admission and identification of cognitive impairment. The recognition of the most common complications will allow clinicians to create focused clinical pathways to help decrease complications in cognitively-impaired

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Gerontology

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Cognitive Impairment
Dementia
Falloutcomes
Falls
Fragility Fracture
Older Adult

Subject Area

Gerontology

Advisor(s)

Shenk, Dena

Committee Members

Seymour, Rachel
Murray, Louise

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2014.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Churchill_uncc_0694N_10697

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:346