Geriatrics Flashcards
What is frailty?
Decline in functional/ physiological reserve –> reduced ability to recover
What are the members of an elderly care MDT (10)?
- Geriatrician
- Nurse
- Pharmacist
- Dietician
- OT
- Physio
- SALT
- Psychiatrist
- Social workers
- Community nurse
What is polypharmacy?
5 or more drugs prescribed
What is appropriate polypharmacy?
Medications that are needed
e.g. for MI prevention
What are 2 common causes of inappropriate polypharmacy?
- Sequential prescribing/ prescribing cascades
- Pain management
What are some consequences of having multiple anticholinergic drugs (2)?
- High falls risk
- Altered mental state
What are some side effects of anticholingerics (8)?
Anticholinergic syndrome:
* Can’t see
* Can’t pee
* Can’t spit
* Can’t shit
* Flushing
* Agitation
* Reduced GCS
* AMS
What are some examples of anticholinergics (5)?
- TCAs
- Antihistamines
- Antipsychotics
- Paroxetine (most of all SSRIs)
- Oxybutynin (for bladder control)
What drugs does warfarin commonly interact with to increase bleeding risk/ INR (2)?
- NSAIDs
- Macrolides (clarythromycin/ erythromycin)
What does clopidogrel interact with to reduce the efficacy of clopidogrel?
Omeprazole - increased clothing risk
other PPIs don’t cause interactions
What risk is associated with NSAID and SSRI co-prescription?
Higher risk of GI bleed - prescribe a PPI
What is ACE-i and spironolactone co-prescription associated with (2)?
- High AKI risk
- Hyperkalaemia
What can methotrexate and trimethoprim co-prescription cause?
Severe bone marrow suppression (myelosuppression)
What can statins interact with to increase their levels (2)?
- Macrolide
- Grapefruit juice
How can iron interact with tetracycline?
Reduces levels of tetracyclines
What is pharmacokinetics vs dynamics?
- Kinetics = body on drug
- Dynamics = drug on body
What are the principles of mental capacity act (2005) (5)?
- Best interest of patient
- Assume capacity until proved otherwise
- An unwise decision should be accepted (if they have capacity)
- Least restrictive option
- Support to make own decision (give all info)
What is an independant mental capacity advocate?
Appointed advocate to represent the patient and what is best for them, however cannot make decisions on patients behalf
What is a lasting power of attorney?
Person appointed by patient to make decisions for them if they were to lack capacity
What are the two types of LPA?
- Financial
- Medical
or both
What is an advanced directive?
Written statement by patient detailing what treatment they would/ wouldn’t want to receive, should they lack capacity. This is situation dependant and they cannot demand treatment (only refuse)
What is a court appointed deputy (CAD)?
Person appointed by a court who CAN make decisions for patient
usually used when depute over patient best interest
What is DOLs?
Deprivation of liberties - patient lacks capacity so is unfree to leave hospital/ care home if they posy risk to themselves or others
What is delirium (acute confusional state)?
Acute change in conciseness/ cognition due to underlying pathology
What are the causes of delirium (7)?
- Pain
- Infection
- Nutrition
- Constipation
- Hydration
- Medication
- Environment + electrolytes
What increases the risk of developing delirium (3)?
- Older age
- History of delirium
- Dementia
What are the signs/ symptoms of delirium (7)?
- Memory disturbances (short worse than long)
- Agitated
- Disorientated
- Mood changes
- VISUAL hallucinations
- Disturbed sleep cycle
- Poor attention
How long should symptoms of delirium have gone on for?
Less than 6 months
after this point alternative diagnoses become more likely
What is a key feature of delirium?
Fluctuations in severity of Sx
What medications can trigger/ exacerbate delirium (4)?
- TCAs
- Opiates
- Parkinsons meds
- Benzos
What are the two types of delirium?
- Hyperactive - agitation, delusions/ hallucinations
- Hypoactive - reduced GCS
How is delirium investigated?
- Confusion bloods
- Investigate source of infection (CXR, CT head, urine dip)
- Screening test
What confusion bloods should be done on those with delirium (7)?
- FBC
- U&E
- Calcium
- B12/folate
- TSH
- Glucose
- ESR/CRP
What screening tests can be used for delirium (2)?
- 4As = alertness, AMT4 (age, DOB, name, place), attention (months backward), acute course
- Short CAM (confusion assessment method)
How is delirium treated?
- Orientate = decrease noise, clocks on wall, same staff, family
- 1st = haloperidol (for severe agitation)
What is important to note in treatment of agitation in those with parkinsons?
Usual first line treatment with haloperidol can worsen Sx of parkinsons
* 1st = atypical antipsychotics e.g. clozapine
* 2nd = benzos
What is dementia?
Progressive decline in cognitive function
What are the important features of patients with dementia to differentiate it from delirium (3)?
- Patient is alert
- Cognitive decline over more than 6 months
- Irreversible
What are the 4 common causes of cortical dementia?
- Alzheimers = MC (60%)
- Vascular
- Frontotemporal
- Lewy body
What is the pathophysiology of Alzheimers?
Beta amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles accumulation in cortex causes axon damage and reduced Ach
What are some risk factors for Alzheimers (5)?
- Family history/ genetics
- Older age
- Caucasian
- Female
- Downs (inevitable)
What genes are associated with Alzheimers (3)?
- APO-E4
- PSEN 1+2
- APP gene (autosomal dominant inheritance)
What are the signs/ symptoms of Alzheimers (4)?
- Aphasia
- Agnosia
- Aphagia
- Amnesia
What is the pathophysiology of vascular dementia?
Recurrent ischemic events in the brain damage it –> Sx of dementia
What are some risk factors for vascular dementia (8)?
- History of stroke/ TIA
- AF
- Hypertension
- Hyperlipidaemia
- DM
- Smoking
- Obesity
- CHD
What is the typical presentation of vascular dementia?
Stepwise or sudden deterioration of cognitive function
What are some signs/ symptoms of vascular dementia (5)?
- Poor memory
- Speech disturbance
- Difficulty concentrating
- Focal neurological abnormalities
- Emotional disturbance
What is the pathophysiology of Lewy body dementia?
Ubiquitin + alpha synuclein (Lewy bodies) build up in the basal ganglia and cortex
What is the difference between levy body dementia and parkinsons dementia?
- Lewy body = dementia first then Parkinsonism
- Parkinsons = Parkinsonism then dementia
What are some risk factors for levy body dementia (3)?
- Parkinsons
- fHx
- Older
What are some signs/ symptoms of lewy body dementia (3)?
- VISUAL hallucinations
- REM sleep disorder
- Fluctuating levels of consciousness
What is the pathophysiology of frontotemporal dementia?
Pick bodies (tau-neurofibrillary tangles + ubiquitin) in frontal/ temporal lobes
What genes are associated with frontotemporal dementia (3)?
- TDP-43
- C9ORF72
- MAPT gene
When does frontotemporal dementia usually present?
Younger age groups <65
What are the signs/ symptoms of frontotemporal dementia (5)?
- Personality change
- Disinhibition
- Relatively preserved memory
- Insidious onset
- Hyperphagia
What symptom might indicate involvement of temporal lobe in FTD?
Trouble with grammar/ speech
How is dementia investigated (3)?
- Confusion bloods (+ syphilis/ HIV)
- Addenbrookes cognitive examination/ MMSE
- MRI
What MMSE score is suggestive of cognitive impairment?
<25
What are the signs of Alzheimers on MRI (3)?
- Cortical atrophy
- Enlarged ventricles
- Sulcal widening
What are the signs of FTD on MRI?
Frontotemproal deposits
What features are suggestive of vascular dementia on MRI?
White cortical deposits
What feature is suggestive of Lewy body on MRI?
Cortical/ BG deposits
What is a SPECT scan (single positron emission CT) good at differentiating (2)?
- FTD
- Altzheimers
What is a DaT (dopamine transporter) scan good at diagnosing?
Lewy body dementia
How is Alzheimers managed (2)?
- Ach-ase inhibitors (donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine)
- Memantine (NMDA antagonist)
What medication should NOT be given to those with Alzheimers?
Antipsychotics
What is a contraindication for donepezil?
Bradycardia