Lapid, Maria I.

Objectives: Little is known about the hospice experience of centenarians. As the population of centenarians is projected to increase, understanding their unique end-of-life needs will be important to inform delivery of quality end-of-life care. Our objective was to characterize the hospice experience of centenarians. Methods: A retrospective single-institution cohort study of centenarians enrolled in hospice from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2017, was conducted to collect demographic and clinical information. Results: Seventeen centenarians, who comprised 1.4% of hospice admissions, had an average age of 102 years, were mostly female (71%) and widowed (76%), and all caucasian. Upon hospice admission, centenarians resided in nursing (8, 47%) and assisted living (4, 24%) residencies as well as at home (4, 24%) and in senior independent living (1, 6%). Sixty percent of centenarians died in a nursing home. The most common hospice admission diagnosis was dementia (35%). Median length of stay on hospice was 41 days (range: 16-85) for 15 persons who died or discharged live. Conclusions: In this group of centenarians, dementia was the most common condition for hospice enrollment. Slightly less than half resided in nursing homes on admission, although death occurred most frequently in a nursing home. Centenarians were generally able to remain out of the hospital at their time of death.

Background Interest in the use of telehealth interventions to increase access to healthcare services is growing. Group-based interventions have the potential to increase patient access to highly needed services. The aim of this study was to systematically review the available literature on group-based video teleconference services. Methods The English-language literature was searched using Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO and CINAHL for terms related to telehealth, group therapy and support groups. Abstracts were reviewed for relevance based on inclusion criteria. Multiple study types were reviewed, including open-label, qualitative and randomised controlled trial study designs. Data were compiled regarding participants, study intervention and outcomes. Specific areas of interest were the feasibility of and satisfaction with telehealth technology, as well as the effect of video teleconference delivery on group dynamics, including therapeutic alliance. Results Forty published studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Six were randomised controlled trials. Among the studies, there was a broad range of study designs, participants, group interventions and outcome measures. Video teleconference groups were found to be feasible and resulted in similar treatment outcomes to in-person groups. However, few studies were designed to demonstrate noninferiority of video teleconference groups compared with in-person groups. Studies that examined group process factors showed small decreases in therapeutic alliance in the video teleconference participants. Conclusions Video teleconference groups are feasible and produce outcomes similar to in-person treatment, with high participant satisfaction despite technical challenges. Additional research is needed to identify optimal methods of video teleconference group delivery to maximise clinical benefit and treatment outcomes.

In the absence of suitable oral or intravenous access for medication administration and when the intramuscular medications are undesirable, alternative routes for drug delivery may be considered. Antipsychotics administered via an inhaled, intranasal, rectal, or topical route have been described in the literature. Topically administered antipsychotics have been previously reported to produce negligible systemic absorption despite being used in clinical practice for nausea and behavioral symptoms associated with dementia. Additionally, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine recommends against the use of topical medications that lack supporting literature. Three studies have assessed the systemic absorption of different antipsychotics after administration of only a single, topically applied dose. To evaluate whether the repeated administration of a topically applied antipsychotic may result in detectable serum levels in an accumulating fashion, a pharmacokinetic study was conducted. Five healthy, adult participants consented to receive extemporaneously prepared topical quetiapine in Lipoderm every 4 hours for a total of 5 doses. Blood samples were drawn at baseline and hours 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24, and serum quetiapine concentrations were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Quetiapine was undetectable in every sample from 3 participants. Two participants had minimally detectable serum quetiapine levels no sooner than hour 12 of the study period. Extemporaneously prepared quetiapine in Lipoderm resulted in nonexistent or minimal serum level following repeated topical administration. The use of topically applied quetiapine should still be questioned.

Objectives This naturalistic prospective observation study examines the efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in treating dementia-related agitation. Methods Patients with dementia-related agitation who received ECT were compared with patients with the same condition who did not receive ECT using Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI)—nursing home version, and Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI). Outcomes were compared between ECT-treated and non–ECT-treated patients. Results A total of 9 patients were included in the study. Six received ECT, and 3 did not. Patients in the ECT and non–ECT-treated groups had comparable baseline scores (CMAI, P = 0.880; NPI, P = 0.814; and CGI, P = 0.445). The CMAI, NPI, and CGI scores were lower on final assessment in both groups with no statistically significant difference (CMAI, P = 0.771; NPI, P = 0.243; and CGI, P = 0.519). Conclusions Electroconvulsive therapy should be considered as a treatment option in the management of severe treatment refractory dementia-related agitation.