Hospitalised seniors 'at risk of memory loss'
Friday 15th April 2011
Hospital doctors and nurses should pay extra attention to older patients after research indicated that seniors can experience memory loss and confusion resulting from hospital stays.
Older adults were found to exhibit memory loss and had difficulty comprehending discharge instructions after a hospital stay, according to the study conducted at Northwestern University.
Additionally, findings published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine revealed that these symptoms endure for one month after the individual had been discharged.
Study author Lee Lindquist said that a medical professional or family member should be present on the day of discharge to ensure the patient understands discharge instructions and gets home safely.
"If a patient is by herself the day of a hospital discharge, it's possible that she won't comprehend complicated medical instructions, increasing medication errors and chances of re-hospitalization," she underlined.
In other news, cardiovascular risk factors have been found to be associated with cognitive decline in research reported at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.
Elevated risk of stroke was linked to a decline in "executive function" involving verbal fluency and the ability to ignore irrelevant information.
Written by Mathew Horton
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