Important article re: significant risks of hospitalization/ER for PWDs

ButterflyWings

Posting on both sites. This corroborates the experiences many of us have had with hospital or ER intervention causing more harm than good for our PWD LOs.

The study focused on fainting or near fainting (syncope) as a reason for the initial hospital contact, but the overarching statements caught my attention and are why we are comfort care-hospice only. Especially at current late stage, but even before this.

"...there are known significant risks associated with hospitalizations for patients with dementia, including prolonged lengths of stay, immobility, falls, protracted delirium, accelerated cognitive and functional decline, institutionalization, and an elevated risk of rehospitalization.12–19 In addition to longer-term adverse outcomes, patients with dementia are at increased risk for an “intervention cascade” while hospitalized. With advancing stages of dementia, an increasing majority of patients’ and their family’s care preferences prioritize comfort and more conservative management that aims to limit intensive diagnostic evaluations and invasive interventions.20–23"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6156993/

Marp

Recently, I called the triage nurse for the VA where my sister gets her care. They told me that their protocol is not to triage anyone with dementia who cannot speak clearly for themselves. They wouldn't even try. Their protocol is to send all of those patients to the ER, no matter the issue.

AlzWife2023

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/68583/important-article-re-significant-risks-of-hospitalization-er-for-pwds

wow! Thank you @ButterflyWings for sharing this VERY important information. We just went through all this two weeks ago & I shared my experience on this forum. You were all so supportive. I knew in my gut that I had to get him out of there. The staff was shocked but cooperative. They were ready to sedate him to do unnecessary tests yet they did nothing for the twelve overnight hours he spent pulling at his IVs and monitors in a combative violent state of hospital psychosis. I thank God I was there the whole time and able to understand this situation. I told our kids on the phone —“we’ve got to get out of here or we’ll be in a mental hospital soon.” His behavior in the hospital was all new and he was fine once we got home.