Profile of the patient with dementia of the geriatric home care program of the National Hospital of Geriatrics and Gerontology Doctor Raúl Blanco Cervantes – San José, Costa Rica

Abstract

The geriatric community care unit of the Hospital Nacional de Geriatría y Gerontología visits older adults with dementia by an interdisciplinary team. Each patient is assessed by a multidisciplinary team. This is a descriptive study that describe the profile of the patients with dementia who have entered the ACG program, from January 2012 to June 2020. An exploratory analysis is performed of 2079 patients evaluated by the Unit. Most patients come from the city of Desamparados. The age ranges from 60 to 105 years, with an average of 84,3 years. The average Barthel is 11,77; Most are women widows. Vascular dementia syndromes represent the most prevalent cause of admission, followed by mixed dementia. Most patients have polypharmacy, neurobehavioral disorders, dysphagia and nutritional disturbances predominating “nutritional risk” category. A minority group have bladder catheter and nasogastric tube and had grade 3 and 4 pressure ulcers. A compromised network is identified in most cases. Most of the caregivers are their children, with ages ranging from 19 to 88 years old with an average of 53,4 years. The patients in this study are mainly female, widowers, over 80 years of age, with severe dependence, nutritional disturbances polypharmacy, neurobehavioral disorders and dysphagia. In addition, they have nutritional alterations and polypharmacy and are mainly cared for by their children in a committed way.