Observed behaviors of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease who are hospitalized for diagnostic tests.
This study examines observed behaviors of hospitalized patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) undergoing invasive diagnostic procedures. Data was obtained from nursing documentation in the medical records of 30 patients, 10 in each stage of AD (i.e., mild, moderate, severe). In general, analysis of the data revealed that changes in behavior occurred immediately prior to, during, and following these procedures. Specifically, the moderately impaired patients showed the most significant curve over the 5-day observation period, while patients in the mildly impaired group showed a high peak of behavioral change on the test day. The severely impaired group of patients had a higher sustained level of activity throughout the 5-day period. Routine assessment of the patients' usual behaviors, care-givers' knowledge of the stage of disease, and awareness of the potential impact that diagnostics may have on cognitively impaired patients could help care providers decide what interventions most likely would lead to successful outcomes.
Day
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Nursing Department, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Musallam
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Wells
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D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index