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Biomedical subjects

Marcel G M Olde Rikkert

Publications and source records attributed to Marcel G M Olde Rikkert.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Community based occupational therapy for patients with dementia and their care givers: randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of community based occupational therapy on daily functioning of patients with dementia and the sense of competence of their care givers. DESIGN: Single blind randomised controlled trial. Assessors were blinded for treatment allocation. SETTING: Memory clinic and day clinic of a geriatrics department and participants' homes. PARTICIPANTS: 135 patients aged > or =65 with mild to moderate dementia living in the community and their primary care givers. INTERVENTIONS: 10 sessions of occupational therapy over five weeks, including cognitive and behavioural interventions, to train patients in the use of aids to compensate for cognitive decline and care givers in coping behaviours and supervision. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients' daily functioning assessed with the assessment of motor and process skills (AMPS) and the performance scale of the interview of deterioration in daily activities in dementia (IDDD). Care giver burden assessed with the sense of competence questionnaire (SCQ). Participants were evaluated at baseline, six weeks, and three months. RESULTS: Scores improved significantly relative to baseline in patients and care givers in the intervention group compared with the controls (differences were 1.5 (95% confidence interval 1.3 to 1.7) for the process scale; -11.7 (-13.6 to -9.7) for the performance scale; and (11.0; 9.2 to 12.8) for the competence scale). This improvement was still significant at three months. The number needed to treat to reach a clinically relevant improvement in motor and process skills score was 1.3 (1.2 to 1.4) at six weeks. Effect sizes were 2.5, 2.3, and 1.2, respectively, at six weeks and 2.7, 2.4, and 0.8, respectively, at 12 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational therapy improved patients' daily functioning and reduced the burden on the care giver, despite the patients' limited learning ability. Effects were still present at 12 weeks, which justifies implementation of this intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT00295152 [ClinicalTrials.gov].

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2006

A method to standardize gait and balance variables for gait velocity.

Many gait and balance variables depend on gait velocity, which seriously hinders the interpretation of gait and balance data derived from walks at different velocities. However, as far as we know there is no widely accepted method to correct for effects of gait velocity on other gait and balance measures. We developed a simple statistical method to obtain gait and balance variables for each participant that are independent of gait velocity. The first step of our standardization method was the transformation of the gait and balance data to obtain a normal distribution and decrease the influence of outliers. Thereafter, we constructed a formula, based on regression analysis that described how these data varied with gait velocity in each participant during walking without an additional task. Last, this formula was used to standardize the gait and balance data for the effect of gait velocity for each individual participant. As example we present the analysis of mediolateral displacements of the trunk in fit elderly people during walking with and without a dual task.

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PubMed2006

The effects of 6 months of increased water intake on blood sodium, glomerular filtration rate, blood pressure, and quality of life in elderly (aged 55-75) men.

OBJECTIVES: To study whether there are any negative or positive effects of 6 months of increased fluid intake in reasonably healthy elderly men. DESIGN: Randomized trial. SETTING: Community-based. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred forty-one healthy participants aged 55 to 75. INTERVENTION: One group was given the advice to increase their daily fluid intake by 1.5 L of water; the other group was given placebo medication (8 mL inactive syrup per day). MEASUREMENTS: At 6 months blood sodium, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), blood pressure, and quality of life (QOL) were measured. The changes in water turnover were measured using deuterium. RESULTS: Most subjects did not manage to increase their fluid intake by 1.5 L. The average increase in the intervention group was approximately 1 L. Twenty-four-hour water turnover in the water group was 359 mL (95% confidence interval=171-548) higher than that of the control group at 6-month follow-up. Blood pressure, sodium level, GFR, and QOL did not change significantly in either group during the intervention period. In addition, the cases reporting a worsening on the effect measures were equally distributed over the two study groups. CONCLUSION: The advice to increase fluid intake by 1.5 L had no negative effects in reasonably healthy men aged 55 to 75.

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PubMed2005

The design of the Dutch EASYcare study: a randomised controlled trial on the effectiveness of a problem-based community intervention model for frail elderly people [NCT00105378].

BACKGROUND: Because of their complex clinical presentations and needs frail elderly people require another approach than people who age without many complications. Several inpatient geriatric health services have proven effectiveness in frail persons. However, the wish to live independently and policies that promote independent living as an answer to population aging call for community intervention models for frail elderly people. Maybe models such as preventive home visits, comprehensive geriatric assessment, and intermediate care qualify, but their efficacy is controversial, especially in frail elderly persons living in the community. With the Dutch EASYcare Study Geriatric Intervention Programme (DGIP) we developed a model to study effectiveness of problem based community intervention models in frail elderly people. METHODS/DESIGN: DGIP is a community intervention model for frail elderly persons where the GP refers elderly patients with a problem in cognition, mood, behaviour, mobility, and nutrition. A geriatric specialist nurse applies a guideline-based intervention with a limited number of follow up visits. The intervention starts with the application of the EASYcare instrument for geriatric screening. The EASYcare instrument assesses (instrumental) activities of daily life, cognition, mood, and includes a goal setting item. During the intervention the nurse regularly consults the referring GP and a geriatrician. Effects on functional performance (Groningen Activity Restriction Scale), health related quality of life (MOS-20), and carer burden (Zarit Burden Interview) are studied in an observer blinded randomised controlled trial. 151 participants were randomised over two treatment arms--DGIP and regular care--using pseudo cluster randomisation. We are currently performing the follow up visits. These visits are planned three and six months after inclusion. Process measures and cost measures will be recorded. Intention to treat analyses will focus on post intervention differences between treatment groups. DISCUSSION: The design of a trial evaluating the effects of a community intervention model for frail elderly people was presented. The problem-based participant selection procedure satisfied; few patients that the GP referred did not meet our eligibility criteria. The use of standard terminology makes detailed insight into the contents of our intervention possible using terminology others can understand well.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

Antipsychotics for behavioural and psychological problems in elderly people with dementia: a systematic review of adverse events.

OBJECTIVE: Although antipsychotics are important in the treatment of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), they have moderate efficacy and often cause adverse events. Recent safety warnings about increased frequency of cerebrovascular adverse events in elderly patients who use atypical antipsychotics mean that physicians now face a dilemma when weighing the benefits and risks of use of antipsychotics in this patient group. This study systematically reviews the reporting of adverse events of antipsychotics used to treat BPSD in randomised, controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychInfo and CINAHL databases (search period 1980 or 1986-April 2005) and the Cochrane controlled trials register (2005) for RCTs that used intention-to-treat analysis to evaluate the efficacy and harms of antipsychotics used to treat BPSD. Two independent reviewers assessed the reporting of adverse events. RESULTS: Screening of 930 abstracts identified 12 eligible RCTs (2809 patients). Most participants were elderly people (mean age 80 years) with Alzheimer's, vascular or mixed dementia. Studies lasted from 3 to 16 weeks. Adverse events, though common, were described heterogeneously and incompletely. No RCT fulfilled all Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials requirements for the reporting of harms. Atypical antipsychotics caused fewer extrapyramidal symptoms and less somnolence than typical antipsychotics, but these differences disappeared when dosages were increased. Only one trial reported cerebrovascular adverse events, with a number needed to harm of 14 (95% CI 8, 41). CONCLUSIONS: At lower doses atypical antipsychotics may cause fewer adverse events in the treatment of BPSD, but there is uncertainty about their cerebrovascular safety profile. The RCTs included in this systematic review described adverse events too incompletely and heterogeneously to allow generation of clear treatment recommendations, and they do not provide sufficient evidence to support recent safety warnings. Better reporting on harms in RCTs is needed to enable rational treatment decisions with respect to use of antipsychotics for BPSD.

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PubMed2004

Delirium in elderly hospitalised patients: protective effects of chronic rivastigmine usage.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the efficacy of the chronic usage of the cholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine in patients with dementia in the prevention of delirium in case of hospitalisation. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Non-geriatric wards of an 1120 bed general teaching hospital in s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Of a group of 366 hospitalised patients, treated by the geriatric consultation team from January 2002 until June 2003, the patients who used rivastigmine chronically were compared with a randomly selected subgroup of all patients not treated with rivastigmine. MEASUREMENTS: The occurrence and duration of a delirium, co-morbidity, use of medication, length of hospitalisation and psychosocial data were collected from the medical charts of the geriatric consultation team. RESULTS: 11 patients (3%) were chronic rivastigmine users. A control group of 29 subjects was randomly selected from the non-rivastigmine users of the patient population. In the group that used rivastigmine five patients (45.5%) developed a delirium, compared with 8 (88.9%) in the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Chronic rivastigmine use may contribute to the prevention of a delirium in a high-risk group of elderly hospitalised patients suffering from dementia.

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PubMed2003

Is stair negotiation measured appropriately in functional assessment scales?

BACKGROUND: A decline in mobility may result in problems with the negotiation of stairs, which can potentially be hazardous. In practice, stair negotiation is an important aspect of daily living and therefore needs to be assessed carefully. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review to identify the way functional assessment scales assess stair negotiation. We evaluated whether stair negotiation could be assessed in a valid and reliable way with these scales. RESULTS: Forty-three of the 92 identified scales have an item on stair negotiation. In these scales, the definition of 'negotiation of stairs' varies, as does the definition of independence. Important aspects such as safety on stairs are missing from all scales. In contrast to older scales, newer scales consist of items that have been tested for validity and reliability. In none of the scales was the stair negotiation item tested separately for validity. Only two scales examined test-retest reliability and only one measured inter-observer agreement. DISCUSSION: In current functional assessment scales stair negotiation is measured with great heterogeneity and insufficient validity. In patients and in studies in which assessment of stair negotiation ability is a key part of functional assessment, an improved, well-validated scale is needed. This scale should include not only the subject's physical ability to negotiate stairs, but also safety and change in ability over time.

Accidental Falls↗