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Biomedical subjects

M D Foreman

Publications and source records attributed to M D Foreman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Delirium: comparison of four predictive models in hospitalized critically ill elderly patients.

Delirium, a cognitive and behavioral disorder affecting more than one third of all hospitalized elderly patients, is often misdiagnosed or unrecognized by caregivers, leading to higher patient morbidity and mortality rates. Prediction of the disorder, based on known predisposing and precipitating risk factors, can be used to target susceptible patients for prevention and early intervention. Predictive models need to be evaluated for clinical application and predictive value. Therefore, in this study, four predictive models were applied on a case-by-case basis to an elderly sample of 10 delirious patients and 10 nondelirious patients to determine sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values in a critical care setting. Results indicated six individual significant variables in these models: age, infection, dementia, blood urea nitrogen-to-creatinine ratio, severe illness, and comorbidity. A final multivariate model, derived from all variables, exhibited a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 90% in predicting delirium in this study. Further studies are needed to substantiate these results. Then, identified risk factors can be incorporated into delirium prevention protocols for use by nurses at the bedside.

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PubMed1998

Does delirium contribute to poor hospital outcomes? A three-site epidemiologic study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the independent contribution of admission delirium to hospital outcomes including mortality, institutionalization, and functional decline. DESIGN: Three prospective cohort studies. SETTING: Three university-affiliated teaching hospitals. PATIENTS: Consecutive samples of 727 patients, aged 65 years and older. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Delirium was present at admission in 88 (12%) of 727 patients. The main outcome measures at hospital discharge and 3-month follow-up were death, new nursing home placement, death or new nursing home placement, and functional decline. At hospital discharge, new nursing home placement occurred in 60 (9%) of 692 patients, and the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for delirium, controlling for baseline covariates of age, gender, dementia, APACHE II score, and functional measures, was 3.0, (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4, 6.2). Death or new nursing home placement occurred in 95 (13%) of 727 patients (adjusted OR for delirium 2.1, 95% CI 1.1, 4.0). The findings were replicated across all sites. The associations between delirium and death alone (in 35 [5%] of 727 patients) and between delirium and length of stay were not statistically significant. At 3-month follow-up, new nursing home placement occurred in 77 (13%) of 600 patients (adjusted OR for delirium 3.0; 95% CI 1.5, 6.0). Death or new nursing home placement occurred in 165 (25%) of 663 patients (adjusted OR for delirium 2.6; 95% CI 1.4, 4.5). The findings were replicated across all sites. For death alone (in 98 [14%] of 680 patients), the adjusted OR for delirium was 1.6 (95% CI 0.8, 3.2). Delirium was a significant predictor of functional decline at both hospital discharge (adjusted OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.6, 5.8) and follow-up (adjusted OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.4, 5.2). CONCLUSIONS: Delirium is an important independent prognostic determinant of hospital outcomes including new nursing home placement, death or new nursing home placement, and functional decline-even after controlling for age, gender, dementia, illness severity, and functional status. Thus, delirium should be considered as a prognostic variable in case-mix adjustment systems and in studies examining hospital outcomes in older persons.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1998

Delirium in the hospitalized elderly: nursing assessment and management.

Delirium is a serious health problem with significant negative consequences which is experienced by many hospitalized elderly patients. Because of its clinical impact and potential reversibility, prompt treatment of delirium is essential. Therefore an understanding of delirium, its manifestations, methods of detection, prevention, and treatment in hospitalized elderly patients is needed. This article provides an overview of the diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas of delirium.

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PubMed1997

The natural history of delirium in older hospitalized patients: a syndrome of heterogeneity.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the presentation, course and duration of delirium in hospitalized older people. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: Inpatient surgical and medical wards at a university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 432 people over the age of 65. MEASUREMENTS: All participants were screened daily for confusion and, in those who were confused, delirium was ascertained using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) III-R criteria. Those who were found to be delirious were followed daily while in hospital for evidence of delirium. The Delirium Rating Scale (DRS) was used to describe the clinical characteristics of delirium. RESULTS: About 15% of subjects had delirium. Sixty-nine percent of delirious subjects had delirium on a single day. The DRS total was higher on the first day of delirium for those with delirium on multiple days than those with delirium on a single day (P = 0.03). Among those with delirium on multiple days, there were no patterns of change over time in specific DRS items. CONCLUSIONS: Delirium in hospitalized older people is common and has a varied presentation and time course. Clinicians and researchers need to consider this great heterogeneity when caring for patients and when studying delirium.

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PubMed1993

Adverse events in the hospitalized elderly.

This descriptive study examined the incidence, onset, and correlates of adverse events (acute confusion, adverse drug reactions, nutritional problems, pressure ulcers, falls, and transient urinary incontinence) experienced by elderly persons hospitalized for acute illness. The researchers studied 64 patients (mean age 74.4 years) for the duration of their hospitalization. Over half (54%) experienced some degree of acute confusion during their hospitalization. There was a 24% incidence of pressure ulcers and a 2% incidence of adverse reactions to medications. No instances of falls or transient urinary incontinence were observed or documented in this sample. Nutritional problems were identified in one third of the sample. Predictive profiles of patients at risk for adverse events associated with hospitalization were developed and provide directions for patient care and further research.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1993

A comparison of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of two methods of managing pressure ulcers.

To compare the efficacy and the cost-effectiveness of moist gauze dressings and a hydrocolloid wafer dressing (DuoDERM CGF), 70 patients with 97 pressure ulcers that were stage II and/or stage III were randomly assigned to one of two treatment methods: moist gauze dressings or hydrocolloid dressings. Efficacy was defined as the number of ulcers that completely healed. In this debilitated, poorly nourished group of patients, one ulcer completely healed in the moist gauze dressing group, and 11 healed in the hydrocolloid group. The per diem cost of the moist gauze dressing was $12.26; the per diem cost of the hydrocolloid dressing was $3.55.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Diagnostic dilemma: cognitive impairment in the elderly.

Cognitive impairment is a significant health problem for the elderly and is associated with severe negative consequences: higher morbidity and mortality and a diminished capacity to care for self. The accurate diagnosis of acute confusion, dementia, and depression depends on the routine, systematic, and comprehensive assessment of cognition, best achieved through the use of a mental status questionnaire and a behavioral rating scale. Nonspecific clinical features, atypical and variable presentations of symptomatology, and the frequent coexistence of acute confusion, dementia, and depression make an accurate diagnosis of the specific form of cognitive impairment difficult. The primary cognition disorder in acute confusion is that of attention, memory with dementia, and mood with depression.

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PubMed1992

Adverse psychologic responses of the elderly to critical illness.

Afflicting as many as 80% of critically ill elderly (older than 65 years) patients, adverse psychologic reactions (e.g., acute confusional states) to critical illness and its treatment present a unique challenge to medical and nursing intensive care practitioners. Additionally, the consequences of these adverse psychologic reactions financially strain health-care organizations, placing additional constraints on the delivery of health-care services. This article presents information regarding the origins of these adverse psychologic reactions and nursing strategies for the prevention, identification, and management of these clinical states. With such information, nurses who work in critical care units may be better equipped to identify and care for patients at risk of or experiencing an adverse psychologic reaction to critical illness.

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PubMed1991

The cognitive and behavioral nature of acute confusional states.

Two hundred thirty-eight elderly hospitalized medical patients, 47.5% of whom became acutely confused, were studied to address two questions about the cognitive and behavioral nature of the phenomenon, acute confusional states. The first question was: "Is there a pattern of cognitive deficits and psychomotor behaviors that is representative of acute confusion?" Maximum likelihood factor analysis of two measures of acute confusion with varimax rotation resulted in a five-factor solution including both cognitive and behavioral dimensions, dimensions representing a mere 29.8% of the variance. The second question was: "Is there a combination of these cognitive and behavioral features that aids in the diagnosis of an acute confusional state?" Stepwise discriminant function analysis indicated that nine of these cognitive and behavioral features were diagnostic of acute confusion, with 90.34% of the subjects correctly classified on the basis of this equation. Overall, findings indicate that more is known about what an acute confusional state is not than about what it is. Implications for nursing practice and recommendations for further study are offered.

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PubMed1990

Assessing the quality of life of elderly persons.

Quality of life assessment data for the elderly patient with cancer should be used to plan, implement, and evaluate treatment protocols. Yet, data are lacking about the quality of life of this patient population. Characteristics of the environment and conceptual and operational issues must be addressed in order to obtain reliable and valid assessment data about the quality of life of elderly persons with cancer.

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PubMed1990

Electrocardiographic response to ice water ingestion.

To determine the necessity of restricting ice water for patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) we performed studies in 89 patients who had been admitted to a coronary care unit with a diagnosis of acute MI or "rule out MI." Using a split-plot factorial repeated-measures design, we randomly assigned patients to position and sequence of volume. A Marquette Augmented Cardiograph was used to obtain 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECGs) at baseline and at 3, 10, and 25 minutes after ingestion of 200 or 400 ml ice water. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to assess the significance of each factor alone and in interaction for both ST segments and T waves for 11 leads. The preliminary analysis of variance showed significant difference (p less than 0.10) in ST segments for position in several leads and in T waves for disease in several leads. Differences did not continue to be significant when they were considered across the four time periods (MANOVA); then time and volume were the significant variables for most leads. Mean change scores for ST segment (0.01 to 0.05) and T wave amplitude (0.01 to 0.88) were not clinically significant; however, a few patients had significant changes in ST segment of greater than 1 mm and T wave amplitude of greater than 10 mm. A few patients exhibited T wave inversion, suggesting a third level of significance: clinically detectable differences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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PubMed1989

Confusion in the hospitalized elderly: incidence, onset, and associated factors.

Seventy-one non-surgical patients over age 60 years were studied to obtain information about the incidence, onset and variables associated with the onset of confusion. The incidence of confusion was 38%; 27 of the 71 subjects developed confusion during hospitalization. Nineteen of the 27 patients developed confusion by the second day of hospitalization; no new cases of confusion were detected after the sixth day of hospitalization. An examination of the psychophysiologic variables associated with the onset of confusion produced a profile of the confused elderly patient. Confused patients were: hypernatremic, hypokalemic, hyperglycemic, hypotensive, had elevated blood levels of creatinine and urea nitrogen, received more medications, were more frequently perceived by nurses as confused, had more orienting objects in their immediate environment, and fewer interactions with significant others. Recommendations for the continued investigation and care of confused patients are offered.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Impaired cognition in the critically ill elderly patient: clinical implications.

Cognitive impairment is a significant health problem for the critically ill aged and warrants further investigation. Despite the lack of knowledge of all aspects of cognitive impairment, much can be undertaken to improve the care of impaired patients. Nurses must routinely, systematically, and comprehensively assess the cognitive state of each elderly patient at the time of admission and daily throughout hospitalization. On the basis of these assessments, nurses must accurately differentiate among confusion, depression, and dementia in the cognitively impaired patient. To carry out such assessments, modification of existing tools, such as the MMSE, may be necessary. Only through such assessment, however, is it possible to detect, prevent, or treat changes in cognition, and thereby prevent its sequelae.

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