Monthly Archives: August 2013

Kidney checks on hospital patients ‘would save lives’

Kidney checks on hospital patients ‘would save lives’

Patient being given water to drink Most people who develop AKI are over the age of 65

Hospital patients should have their kidneys checked to spot a potentially lethal condition affecting one in six of those admitted, say new guidelines.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says the NHS in England could save at least 12,000 lives and millions of pounds a year if it follows its advice.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is almost entirely preventable but kills up to one in every four sufferers.

Good hydration is key, says NICE.Basic checks

Healthcare professionals should be monitoring their patient’s kidney function by checking they have enough to drink or have been given a fluid drip.

They should also keep close tabs on how much urine patients are passing and may want to order blood tests to help them spot early warning signs of dehydration.

Give cleaners to the elderly says minister

Voucher scheme could create over 700,000 jobs

  • The system is already used in Belgium and France
  • Report claims it would create more than 700,000 jobs

By Mario Ledwith

|

The elderly could be given state-funded cleaners so their relatives no longer have to quit their jobs to look after them.

Under a plan backed by the care minister, those no longer able to carry out household tasks would be issued with vouchers to put towards gardeners, cooks and cleaners.

Dementia sufferers more likely to be diagnosed with urinary or fecal incontinence

Dementia sufferers more likely to be diagnosed with urinary or fecal incontinence

August 27th 2013

Patients with a diagnosis of dementia have approximately three times the rate of diagnosis of urinary incontinence, and more than four times the rate of fecal incontinence, compared with those without a diagnosis of dementia, according to a study in this week’s issue of PLOS Medicine by Robert Grant (Kingston University and St. George’s, University of London) and colleagues. Furthermore, patients with dementia and incontinence were more likely to receive incontinence medications and indwelling catheters than those with incontinence but without dementia, the authors state.

The authors analyzed records of patients in The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database, a database of nearly 500 UK primary care practices. They extracted data on 54,816 people aged 60 years with a diagnosis of dementia and an age-gender stratified sample of 205,795 people without a diagnosis of dementia from 2001 to 2010. The THIN database does not distinguish nursing home (care home) residents from those who live in their own homes.