title: Lower respiratory infections in nursing home residents with dementia: a tale of two countries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A focus on palliative care for residents with dementia is much more common in Dutch nursing homes than in the United States. We compared treatment and mortality in U.S. and Dutch nursing home residents with lower respiratory infections (LRI), which are often the immediate cause of death in dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied two prospective cohorts--a study of pneumonia (n = 706) conducted in 61 psychogeriatric nursing homes throughout the Netherlands and 701 subjects with likely dementia from a study of LRIs in 36 nursing homes in Missouri.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nursing home residents with dementia were more often treated without antibiotics in the Netherlands (23%) than in Missouri (15%). Indicators of severe illness operate in opposite directions: more severe illness is associated with antibiotic treatment in the United States, but with palliative treatment without antibiotics in the Netherlands.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings are consistent with others in indicating problems with transition to palliative care for U.S. nursing home residents with dementia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia, M228 Medical Sciences Building, 1 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO 65212, USA. Mehrd@health.missouri.edu
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Mehr
authors.forename: Jenny T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: van der Steen
authors.forename: Robin L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Kruse
authors.forename: Marcel E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ooms
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rantz
authors.forename: Miel W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Ribbe
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008923:Missouri; D009426:Netherlands; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010166:Palliative Care; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents