Dementia in resuscitation policy: a prospective study of a psychogeriatric ward in a Dutch general teaching hospital.

Resuscitation decisions during the first 6 weeks were analysed for 97 admissions to a psychogeriatric ward of a general teaching hospital. Seventy-seven patients (79%) had a written 'do not resuscitate' (DNR) order on admission and 74 patients (875) had a written DNR order after 6 weeks. Morbidity was assessed with a pre-arrest morbidity (PAM) index and a modified PAM index (MPI). Dementia influenced the presence of a DNR order, both because lack of effectiveness of CPR and lack of quality of life. Age was related to a DNR order. The MPI was associated with the presence of a written DNR order, while the PAM score failed to reach significance. Six weeks after admission DNR orders were predictable by the four variables of dementia, the use of antidepressants, age and PAM, in that order. The association of the use of antidepressants with the presence of a written DNR order was surprising. The use of antidepressants is not the same as the diagnosis of depression. Because of the design, our results cannot permit any conclusion whether depression acts as an additional factor considered in decision-making in psychogeriatric patients. We suggest that depression and its correlates should be considered in discussions and studies about DNR.

Three-year follow-up of Mini-Mental State Examination score in community residents aged 85 and over.

The objective of this study was to describe over time the course of cognitive function of elderly without cognitive impairment and of elderly with different stages of impairment, and to assess if the change in cognitive function was dependent on the initial level of function. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used at two time points. The first assessment (MMSE-1) was part of a community-based study and was obtained from 871 subjects. For the second assessment (MMSE-2) a sample of 166 subjects was drawn from the subjects alive at follow-up who had an MMSE-1 score. This sample was stratified by MMSE-1 score to avoid oversampling of subjects with high MMSE-1 scores. A second MMSE score was obtained from 134 elderly, whereas 18 subjects refused participation and 14 subjects were not traceable. The median age at first assessment was 89 years (25th percentile 87, 75th percentile 92), the mean follow-up period (S.D.) was 3.3 (0.5) years. The median change in MMSE score was minus 4 points (95% confidence interval (CI) -7 to -2) and the slope of the regression line of MMSE-2 on MMSE-1 was 1.1 (95% CI 0.9-1.3). It is likely that the slope was underestimated due to a floor effect, regression to the mean and missing observations. However, the probability of decline decreased if MMSE-1 was higher. Nevertheless, the probability ranged from 27 to 59% for subjects with the highest MMSE-1 scores aged 85 and 95 years respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)