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OBJECTIVE To analyze the influential factors for potentially inappropriate medication （PIM） in elderly cancer patients. METHODS The data of elderly cancer patients hospitalized in a hospital from January to December 2021 were collected. According to the Beers standard of the American Geriatrics Society in 2019 （hereinafter referred to as the “2019 version of Beers standard”） and Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Drug Use in Chinese Elderly （2017 version） （hereinafter referred to as the “Chinese PIM standard”）， the PIM status of elderly cancer patients was retrospectively analyzed. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify influential factors for PIM. RESULTS A total of 293 patients were included in the study. According to the 2019 version of Beers standard， 211 patients （72.01%） had PIM， of which 204 （69.62%） had PIM related to drugs， 6 （2.05%） had PIM related to diseases or symptoms， 46 （15.70%） had PIM that should be used with caution， 32 （10.92%） had PIM with drug-drug interaction that should be avoided， and 11 （3.75%） had PIM based on renal function； the top 5 drugs in the list of incidence were proton pump inhibitors， metoclopramide， the first-generation antihistamines as promethazine， analgesics as ibuprofen and megestrol. According to the Chinese PIM standard， there were 132 patients （45.05%） with PIM， of which 119 （40.61%） had PIM related to drugs， involving 25 drugs （included 7 high-risk drugs and 18 low-risk drugs）， and 24 （8.19%） with PIM in disease status； top 4 drugs in the list of incidence were promethazine， megestrol， ibuprofen and cimetidine. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that compared with patients with hospital stay≤10 days， patients with hospital 20054） stay between 11 and 30 days had a higher risk of PIM [odds ratio （OR）＝8.836 8， 95% confidence interval （CI） （3.217 8， 31.940 9）， P＝0.000 1]； compared with the patients with the 65895198。E-mail：fjman@cmpt.ac.cn number of clinical disease diagnosed≤5， patients with the number of clinical disease diagnosed≥11 had a higher risk of PIM [OR＝10.930 1， 95%CI （3.000 9， 70.922 9）， P＝0.001 8]； compared with surgical treatment， patients receiving antineoplastic drugs had a higher risk of PIM [OR＝2.209 5， 95%CI （1.180 2， 4.176 9）， P＝0.013 6]. CONCLUSIONS Elderly cancer patients have multiple diseases， complicated medication， and a high incidence of PIM. The length of hospital stay （11-30 d）， the number of clinical disease diagnosed （≥11） and anti-tumor drugs are main influential factors for PIM in patients.
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BACKGROUND@#Few studies have specifically addressed quality of life issues for elderly hospice patients. The purpose of this study is to explore various factors and service patterns of the quality of life of end-of-life care for the elderly.@*METHODS@#We collect the data and make small-scale exploratory study via semi-structured individual interviews. Data were collected from the family of 2 elderly cancer patients receiving hospice services, and the data were analyzed qualitatively.@*RESULTS@#After investigation, we found that elderly people in hospice care, regardless of age, are suffering from physical and psychological pain and do not want to spend the rest of their lives in the hospital, but want to die in their own homes.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Both hospitalization and in-home care can improve resource utilization, and the key is to find various factors affecting the quality of life. Improving the quality of life is what patients and their families need most.
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , China , Health Personnel , Psychology , Hospice Care , Psychology , Neoplasms , Therapeutics , Patients , Psychology , Quality of Health Care , Social WorkABSTRACT
Purpose: This study was performed to compare the characteristics of home palliative care for elderly patients with cancer between age groups. Methods: The clinical records of 1,032 patients with cancer who received home medical care from June to November 2013 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were classified as non-elderly (<65 years old), young-old (65-74 years), old-old (75-84 years), or oldest-old (≥85 years), and these groups were compared with respect to demographic characteristics, patient/family problems, outcomes, and medical care and services provided. Results: There was a higher percentage of patients with no caregiver in the oldest-old group than in the other groups (18%, p=0.014), while the young-old and oldest-old groups had a higher percentage of problems related to caregiving such as caregiver burden or absence of a caregiver (32% and 33%, p=0.002, respectively). In addition, the percentage of patients who required visiting nurses and care was higher in the old-old group (86% and 30%, respectively) and oldest-old group (89% and 35%, respectively) compared with the other two groups. Conclusion: Problems related to caregiving, such as caregiver burden or absence of a caregiver, were greater in the old-old and oldest-old groups, and a higher percentage of patients required visiting nurses and care in those two groups.
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BACKGROUND: The study examined the correlations among the results of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)-Quality of Life Questionnaire, Core 30 (QLQ-C30) completed by elderly cancer patients and their family caregivers and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)-performance status (PS) evaluated by medical doctors. METHODS: The study sample included 269 persons with cancer aged 55 years or older and their family caregivers recruited from hospitals located in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. The results of the ECOG-PS evaluated by medical doctors were obtained from medical records. Intra-class correlation analysis was used to assess rater reliability between the elderly cancer patients and their family caregivers. Correlations among the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the ECOG-PS were tested using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearmen's correlation. RESULTS: The results showed that four subscales of quality of life (physical functioning, emotional functioning, social functioning, and global health status) and three items under symptoms (fatigue, pain, and financial difficulties) in the EORTC QLQ-C30 were highly consistent between patients and their family caregivers. From the EORTC QLQ-C30 results, social functioning, role functioning, health status, fatigue, pain, and appetite loss (patients results) and physical functioning (family caregivers results) were highly consistent with the results of the ECOG-PS by the physicians. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that when the older persons with cancer have difficulty expressing their own thoughts or feelings, the EORTC QLQ-C30 completed by their family caregivers and the results of the ECOG-PS completed by the physicians could be used as substitutes.
Subject(s)
Aged , Humans , Appetite , Caregivers , Fatigue , Medical Records , Medical Staff , Quality of Life , SeoulABSTRACT
Objective: recently, there has been a rapid aging process of the world population. Despite of a longer permanence of natural teeth and a reduction of oral diseases caused by the improvement of life conditions and the provision of health care, the prevalence of oral diseases in the elderly is still considered significant. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the epidemiological profile of elderly patients (above 60 years old) attended in 25 years of campaigns oral cancer prevention in the Paraná state, Brazil, between 1989 and 2013. Material and Methods: Patients, volunteers, were evaluated during 25 years of oral cancer prevention by the campaign team and all patients were evaluated in a methodical way with inspection of all intra-oral areas. Results: a total of 22,909 patients were attended during the 25 years of projects. Of these, 6,134 were older than 60 years old, with appearance of 1,523 oral lesions during the examination and 4,611 patients had no oral alterations during the dentist evaluation, among those were found injuries by traumatic origin, inflammatory lesions and others types of injury. Conclusion: it is clear the necessity for specialized care and active surveillance of these patients, since it is a consensus in the literature that the best treatment is early diagnosis. It is also necessary the development of epidemiological studies of the elderly population, which are scarce and difficult to elaboration of plans for effective action to meet the specific demands of this age group.
Objetivo: a população mundial atualmente sofre com um rápido processo de envelhecimento. Apesar de uma maior permanência dos dentes naturais e da redução de doenças bucais causadas pela melhoria das condições de vida e da prestação de cuidados de saúde, a prevalência de doenças bucais em idosos ainda é considerado significativa. Portanto, o objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o perfil epidemiológico dos pacientes idosos (acima de 60 anos) que foram atendidos em 25 anos de campanhas de prevenção do câncer de boca no estado do Paraná, Brasil, entre 1989 e 2013. Material e Métodos: Os pacientes foram selecionados voluntariamente e avaliados durante 25 anos de prevenção de câncer bucal pela equipe participante, os quais foram avaliados de forma metódica com a inspeção de todas as áreas intra-orais. Resultados: um total de 22.909 pacientes foram atendidos durante os 25 anos de projetos. Destes, 6.134 tinham mais de 60 anos, com presença de 1.523 pacientes com lesões orais durante o exame e 4.611 pacientes sem alterações orais durante a avaliação do dentista. As lesões encontradas tinham origem traumática, inflamatórias e outras. Conclusão: é evidente a necessidade de atendimento especializado e da busca ativa desses pacientes, uma vez que é um consenso na literatura de que o melhor tratamento de lesões orais é o diagnóstico precoce. Também é necessário o desenvolvimento de estudos epidemiológicos da população idosa, que são escassos e difíceis de elaboração assim como a realização de planos de ação eficazes para atender às demandas específicas desta faixa etária.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Aged , Diagnosis, Oral , Mouth Neoplasms , Oral HealthABSTRACT
<b>Purpose</b>: The research is aimed at the evaluation of management of pain in elderly cancer patients receiving home-based care. <b>Methods</b>: A questionnaire of 29 questions was developed and 323 home-care physicians were invited to answer the questionnaire with an online system from January 19 to 25 2011. According to answers from the general physicians, we compared the differences of answers about managements of cancer pain between two groups (>75 years old cancer patients with or without cognitive disorder) by Pearson's chi-square test. <b>Results</b>: In a the question “Are patients able to appropriately express their cancer pain?”, the ratio of physicians' answers was different;, positive answers in the patients' group with cognitive disorder was significantly lower than those without cognitive disorder (<i>p</i>=0.0043). In other questions “Do physicians feel difficulty of assessment of analgesic effect of opioids?” and “Do physicians feel difficulty of dose-selection and adjustment of opioids?”, positive answers in patients' group with cognitive disorder were more dominant than those without cognitive disorder (<i>p</i><0.0001 each). Further, in the question “Do physicians feel cancer pain management is well-done?”, positive answers were significantly lower in patients with cognitive disorder than those without cognitive disorder (<i>p</i><0.0001). <b>Conclusion</b>: With the analyses of the answers from the physicians, we found that physicians felt difficulty of both the assessment of pain and analgesic effect of opioids in patients with cognitive disorder. It should be required for the physicians to improve pain management, especially to the patients with cognitive disorder.