NEWS2 and the older person.

The National Early Warning Score (NEWS), published in 2012, made no specific adjustments for older people. The updated NEWS2 (2017) incorporated new confusion as a category for consciousness. In this article, we consider the role of NEWS2 in detection of acute clinical deterioration in older people and how the score may be used to inform care, highlighting the additional aspects, such as care escalation decisions, that may ensue. We consider the evidence of NEWS and NEWS2 in assessment of the older person in different settings, including the potential benefits and limitations for care home residents. We suggest that NEWS2 may need adaptation for older people in future iterations, and that it should be used in conjunction with other clinical assessments, such as the Clinical Frailty Scale and the four 'A's test (4AT) for delirium.

NEWS2 shows low sensitivity and high specificity for delirium detection: a single site observational study of 13,908 patients.

Delirium affects 25% of hospital admissions of older people and is a serious medical condition with poor outcomes. 'New confusion' as a delirium indicator was incorporated into the 'alert, verbal, pain and unresponsive' (AVPU) level of consciousness scale in the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) in 2017. We measured sensitivity of non-alert NEWS2 (new confusion and/or V, P or U ratings) for delirium through comparison with the four 'A's test (4AT) delirium tool in 13,908 consecutive non-elective hospital admissions. We included NEWS2 scores 4 hours before or after 4AT. There were 2,802 (20%) admissions with positive 4AT and 594 (4.3%) with non-alert NEWS2 status. Sensitivity of NEWS2 for 4AT ≥4 was 17.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 16.4-19.2), and specificity was 99.1% (95% CI 98.9-99.3). These findings suggest that NEWS2 in current practice has low sensitivity but high specificity for delirium. Further research is needed to improve routine inpatient monitoring for delirium.

Plasma alkaline phosphatase is elevated in Alzheimer's disease and inversely correlates with cognitive function.

Alkaline phosphatase is present on neuronal membranes and plasma alkaline phosphatase activity increases in brain injury and cerebrovascular disease, suggesting that plasma alkaline phosphatase may partly reflect neuronal loss. As neuronal loss occurs in Alzheimer's disease (AD), we hypothesised that alterations in plasma alkaline phosphatase activity may correlate with cognitive impairment. Plasma alkaline phosphatase activity was measured in the longitudinal Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Aging (OPTIMA) cohort (121 AD patients, 89 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients and 180 control subjects). Plasma alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly higher in the AD patients relative to the controls (p<0.001). In the MCI patients, plasma alkaline phosphatase was at a level in between that seen in control and AD subjects, consistent with the clinical status of this group. Furthermore, plasma alkaline phosphatase activity inversely correlated with cognitive function (assessed by the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders (CAMC0G)) in controls (z= -2.21 p=0.027), MCI (z= -2.49, p=0.013) and AD patients (z= -3.61, p=0.0003). These data indicate that plasma alkaline phosphatase activity is increased in AD and inversely correlates with cognitive function regardless of diagnostic status.