Browsing by Author "Yen, Chung-Jen"

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Modified Hospital Elder Life Program: Effects on Abdominal Surgery Patients
(2011-08-01)
Chen, Cheryl Chia-Hui
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Lin, Ming-Tsan
;
Tien, Yu-Wen
;
Yen, Chung-Jen
;
Huang, Guan-Hua
BACKGROUND: Postsurgical functional decline is common in older patients and can lead to frailty and increased mortality. Comprehensive interventions such as the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) have been shown to be effective, but modifying the HELP to include only 3 key interventions might prove cost-effective for surgical patients. STUDY DESIGN: Consecutive patients from August 2007 through April 2009 (n = 179) were enrolled if they had undergone common elective abdominal surgical procedures, such as gastrectomy, cholecystectomy, and Whipple surgery. A modified HELP intervention consisting of early mobilization, nutritional assistance, and therapeutic (cognitive) activities implemented by a trained nurse was introduced on a surgical ward in May 2008. Patients enrolled before May 2008 received usual care and served as controls (n = 77). Those enrolled after the modified HELP intervention constituted the experimental group (n = 102). Changes in performance of activities of daily living, nutritional status, and cognitive function between admission and discharge were the primary end points. RESULTS: Independent of baseline functions, education, periampullary diagnosis, comorbidity, surgical procedure, and duration of surgery, patients in the HELP group declined significantly less on activities of daily living performance and nutritional status (p < 0.001) than controls. The delirium rate was also significantly lower in the HELP group (0%) than in the control group (16.7%) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The modified HELP intervention effectively reduced older surgical patients' functional decline and delirium rates by hospital discharge. This program, conducted by a trained nurse, was not costly but did require commitment and ongoing cooperation between physician and nursing leadership to achieve compliance with the protocols. (J Am Coll Surg 2011;213:245-252. (C) 2011 by the American College of Surgeons)
Pre-surgical Geriatric Syndromes, Frailty, and Risks for Postoperative Delirium in Older Patients Undergoing Gastrointestinal Surgery: Prevalence and Red Flags
(2015-05-01)
Chen, Cheryl Chia-Hui
;
Lin, Ming-Tsan
;
Liang, Jin-Tung
;
Chen, Chun-Min
;
Yen, Chung-Jen
We sought to identify and evaluate red flags for pre-surgical geriatric conditions (geriatric syndromes, frailty, and risks for postoperative delirium) in older patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. Older individuals (a parts per thousand yen65 years) undergoing major elective gastrointestinal surgery from 2009 to 2012 were enrolled and assessed preoperatively. Participants (N = 379; mean age = 74.5 +/- 5.9 years) primarily underwent colorectal (54.3 %), gastric (21.9 %), and pancreatobiliary (12.6 %) surgery. Overall, 30.9 % had existing geriatric syndromes, 26.7 % were frail, and 22.8 % had > 3 risk factors for postoperative delirium. The largest proportion (45.7 %) presented with at least one geriatric condition. Patients with or without geriatric conditions were discriminated with adequate sensitivity (67 %), specificity (84 %), and positive predictive value (77 %) by eight red flags: age a parts per thousand yen75 years (OR, 2.86; P < 0.001), eating soft food (OR, 3.63; P = 0.001), reported hypertension (OR, 2.8; P = 0.001), weight loss > 3 kg (OR, 4.79; P < 0.001), fair-to-weak grip strength (OR, 2.53; P = 0.001), sleeplessness (OR, 2.57; P = 0.001), no-better-than-peer perceived health (OR, 1.88; P = 0.022), and short-term inability to recall two of three common words (OR, 1.81; P = 0.025). Eight red flags covered as part of history and physical examination are well suited to screen patients for geriatric conditions indicating the need for preoperative geriatric assessments and optimization.
Prevalence of geriatric conditions: A hospital-wide survey of 455 geriatric inpatients in a tertiary medical center
(2011-07-01)
Chen, Cheryl Chia-Hui
;
Yen, Chung-Jen
;
Dai, Yu-Tzu
;
Wang, Charlotte
;
Huang, Guan-Hua
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of common geriatric conditions in a tertiary medical center. We conducted a cross-sectional, hospital-wide survey of 455 inpatients, aged 65 and older, from 24 medical and surgical units of a 2200-bed urban academic medical center in Taiwan. Patients were screened in face-to-face interviews for 15 geriatric conditions. The prevalence of geriatric conditions was determined and compared by medical versus surgical services. Our sample of participants had a mean age of 75.3 +/- 6.1 years (+/- S.D.), range = 65-92. The prevalence of geriatric conditions ranged from 5% (pressure ulcers) to 57% (polypharmacy; taking > 5 prescriptions). The majority was visually impaired (74%) and complained of sleep disturbance during their hospital stay (58%). Prevalence rates of certain geriatric conditions differed significantly between medical and surgical units, suggesting that care should address not only common conditions but also those with higher rates on different units. Furthermore, high rates of geriatric conditions indicate strong needs for care that does not fit into traditional disease models of medicine. Care should be better targeted to address different risks for geriatric conditions of medical versus surgical geriatric inpatients in acute care settings. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Shared Risk Factors for Distinct Geriatric Syndromes in Older Taiwanese Inpatients
(2010-09-01)
Chen, Cheryl Chia-Hui
;
Dai, Yu-Tzu
;
Yen, Chung-Jen
;
Huang, Guan-Hua
;
Wang, Charlotte
Background: Identifying shared common risk factors of geriatric syndromes is clinically useful in designing a unified approach to optimizing geriatric care. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify older Taiwanese inpatients' common shared risk factors among seven distinct geriatric syndromes: malnutrition, depression, cognitive impairment, functional dependence, incontinence, pressure ulcers, and dehydration. Method: A cross-sectional, hospital-wide survey was conducted to enroll inpatients (N = 455) older than 65 years and admitted to 24 medical and surgical units in a 2,200-bed urban academic medical center in northern Taiwan. Malnutrition was defined as a Mini-Nutritional Assessment score less than 17.5, depression was defined as a Geriatric Depression Scale score more than 10, cognitive impairment was considered a Mini-Mental State Examination score less than 20, and functional dependence was defined as a Barthel Index score less than 50. Incontinence, pressure ulcers, and dehydration were extracted from patients' medical records. Results: Participants had a mean age of 75.3 years (SD = 6.1 years, range = 65-92 years). The prevalence of geriatric syndromes ranged from 5% (pressure ulcers) to 33% (malnutrition). The selected geriatric syndromes were shown through logistic regression analysis to be predicted by female gender (odds ratio [OR] = 1.57-2.75), functional status (OR = 0.94-0.99), cognitive status (OR = 0.82-0.95), nutritional status (OR = 0.74-0.93), and depressive symptoms (OR = 1.07-1.26), supporting the notion of shared risk factors in geriatric syndromes. Conclusions: The findings support the theory that common geriatric syndromes have a shared set of risk factors-female gender, depressive symptoms, and functional, cognitive, and nutritional status. Revising care to target these shared risk factors in preventing common geriatric syndromes is theoretically sound.