RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

Studies on the utility of the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome in predicting cardiovascular mortality among older adults are not readily available. This study focused on evaluating the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome on participants’ mortality rate between 1989-2004 among 4258 US adults 65 years of age and older who were at the time of enrollment free from cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study was a multicenter, population-based, prospective cohort and was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, May 12, 2008.

Reduced food intake and weight loss are normal features of advancing age. Evidence is increasing that non-demented elderly malnourished people benefit from nutritional supplements. Randomized trials are not evident in the literature on demented patients and benefits they may receive from nutritional supplements via tube. This article highlights two problems from the tube feeding of demented patients: 1) they lack the potential for physical or neurological rehabilitation and 2) they are not starving. They are, the article argues, in a state of physical homeostasis.

The old adage of “things will get worse before they get better” seems more and more to be the mantra of healthcare today. The troubles effecting today’s healthcare system are numerous and highly complex to the point that they must be hampering strategic planning. Several large issues are on the horizon for healthcare that if not addressed in the foreseeable future could spell out devastating problems.

“Hospital follow-up falls short”, was the headline from the Sunday’s (February 24th, 2008) Sacbee (Sacramento Bee News). The sordid story of how unsuccessfully hospitals are dealing with the transition process of discharging elderly patients home, or to a skilled nursing facility (SNF , aka: Nursing Home). The article tells of the inadequate planning carried out when discharging patients home, with a focus on the elderly. It is a story of fragmented care.