Luckily she’s got dementia

I enter the patient’s bedroom after a brief chat with the daughter who is sitting outside.

“Mom had diarrhea … she’s also got dementia … ”

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“Who are you?”

“Hello, Auntie .. I’m doctor .. I came to check on you … …”

“Go away. There’s nothing wrong with me. I don’t want to see a doctor.”

“OK .. ”

I walk out of the patient’s room, and into the living room – Out of sight now.

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3 minutes later, I walk into the patient’s room again

“Who are you?”

“Hello, Auntie .. I’m Jane’s friend … I came to visit … have you eaten?”

“Yes. I have”

“Was the food nice and does your tummy feel full?”

I reach out to feel the ABDOMEN – Soft, non-tender

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The rest of the physical examination performed in 5 parts, getting history from the daughter outside the bedroom in between ….

 

Not Vertigo (again)

Previously I posted about a patient who had symptoms of giddiness and vertigo, but turned out to have a heart attack instead.

This time, I saw a patient with 3 episodes of giddiness over one week. He also experienced cold sweat during these episodes. Additionally, he felt physically tired – so much so that he could not walk his usual 2km – he had to stop after half the distance.

When I saw him, he was not terribly distressed but was drenched in sweat. Worried that it might be a heart attack, I advised him to go to the emergency department for further evaluation.

Turns out it wasn’t a heart attack – his X-Ray showed some signs of a chest infection. He had not complained of fever, cough, or breathlessness; his description was more of fatigue – a sense of tiredness and feeling weak. Good thing we had the investigations done for him…

Three patients in a row today with low blood pressure

Three patients in a row today with low blood pressure. For sure, they needed to be hospitalized; none of them (or their families) wanted to go. You can see that they understood the gravity of the situation, they nod their heads at the explanations – bleeding from the gut, possible malignancy, infection (sepsis). Their faces did not show much distress or worry. It looked like they had already made up their minds.

I could understand that the elderly lady vomiting blood was reluctant to go because it was near the all important new year holiday season. But I didn’t understand why the lady with severe anemia (of unknown cause) did not want to get it sorted out. The family of the patient* with sepsis decided to keep their options open – wanting to observe the situation and possibly reconsider hospitalization.

With their minds more or less fixed on not going to hospital (that’s why they got me in for a housecall in the first place), convincing them otherwise is very hard. Supporting them with what they want is all that can be done. Injections to stop vomiting (blood), anti-acid medications for presumed gastric bleeding, antibiotics for infection, etc.

I’m not sure what their outcomes might be – whether the families might convince patients to eventually visit the hospital. But we can only do so much. Outcomes can’t be controlled.

*the patient had dementia, and so the family had to decide for him

Feeling guilty about not feeding

These days, she’s not been able to communicate as much and doesn’t even swallow her food properly. She looked interested in our conversation, but it was unlikely that she knew what the discussion was about. But still,  her expressions followed the tone of our conversation – flowing between curiosity, and concern.

At the table nearby, her daughter was relating an episode about how she felt so guilty when another doctor told her that not using tube-feeding for her mother was like “starving her to death”.  At the moment, we’re hardly near that stage. But the daughter and family already know that drastically reduced food intake is an eventual consequence of the decline from dementia.

We’d already gone through options for care, including whether patients might benefit from tube-feeding. The facts objectively laid out and clear. She thought she had it all planned out and decided, until that encounter. Would have been easy if humans just relied on being rational and logical. Now she’s unsure if she’s doing the right thing, with some guilt lingering.

Being judged on what choice (tube feeding) one makes for his or her parent is never helpful; maybe even harmful. Instead, understanding that choices are always made in contexts that we can never fully appreciate is wiser. Accepting that there are very different choices which can be made, not necessarily a right or wrong choice is good enough. Just choices, and supporting the patient and family – whatever the choice.

 

link to NY Times article on tube feeding

American Geriatrics Society – position statement on tube feeding in advanced dementia

She passed away in 36 hours

She passed away in 36 hours, quietly and peacefully at home. The atmosphere in the home was also quiet and peaceful. No panic, no rush, .. just doing what is required. In fact, there was a sense of relief that this happened now, and not during the Chinese New Year season.

The day before, I was called in to see her as she had deteriorated – she had stopped eating and her breathing pattern had changed. She was still alert, opening her eyes and even moving her limbs a little; she reacted when she could hear her husband in the hall.

Her family already knew that her death was impending but needed a professional opinion to confirm this to be the case. Once this was provided, the necessary care and arrangements could follow. There was not much in the way of medical care, as there were no distressing symptoms. It was more a question of knowing and preparing.

Supporting the patient and family in this way is an important role for healthcare professionals. As professionals we often feel the need to do something – prescribe medication, intervene, etc. That is still necessary in many cases, but for this patient (and the family) having the prognosis confirmed was what really mattered.

 

Don’t need a hard technical diagnosis

Physicians don’t take the diagnosis of cancer lightly. In the usual case, thorough investigations are done – blood tests, scans, biopsies, etc. before the diagnosis is made. This is so that subsequent treatment can be planned and optimized for the patient. However, this is not always possible for home care patients, nor is it always necessary.

Two recent patients come to mind.The first patient was in her mid-nineties with a breast lump and enlarged liver – found by examining the patient. She was referred to hospice care and passed away within 3 months. The second patient (also about ninety years old) had a growing patch of discoloration in her mouth (previously biopsied 1 year ago and told no cancer). Similarly, no further investigation was made and she received palliative care at home before passing away in a matter of months.

These patients certainly did not want further investigations to confirm the diagnosis – it was enough to have examined the patient. In fact, home clinical assessment and close follow-up was able to provide a more accurate picture of the second patient’s condition. Neither did they need a hard ‘technical’ diagnosis to guide further treatment – they had wanted to remain comfortable and receive palliative care at home.

In the past when hospital based care was more visible than home care, this way of managing patients (without a ‘hard’ diagnosis) might have been perceived as inappropriate or less than a reasonable standard.  Some physicians may have felt uncomfortable about not having a firm diagnosis in these cases.

But this is all a matter of context. It is about understanding the patient’s situation and needs, rather than having to fulfill technical or organizational needs (and definitions). Going back to basics – hands on examination of patients – may be just the thing that is needed and that provides patients the feeling that they are cared for.

Neighbors helping out

Few days ago, I saw an elderly lady with chest pain, leg swelling and irregular heartbeats. She was staying at home with a helper, the rest of her family being away overseas. Being a foreigner, she was worried about going to the hospital because she wasn’t sure how to handle the paperwork, administration, etc.

Fortunately, her neighbor was at hand to help. In fact, it was this caring neighbor that had arranged for me to visit the elderly lady. She was prepared to help arrange transport, etc. to get the patient to hospital. In this case, she would be getting the help of yet another neighbor!

We eventually persuaded her to be transferred to the hospital where she was then admitted. It was good to see such community spirit, with neighbors pitching in to help each other. One wonders if the patient would have deteriorated, were there no neighbors to help…

UK Online Carer-Patient Matchmaker HomeTouch Expands Nationwide

Caring for a patient at home is a team effort. While we (healthcare professionals) often see patients through as needing medical or nursing expertise, the family and caregivers are equally important for the holistic care of the patient.


UK Online Carer-Patient Matchmaker HomeTouch Expands Nationwide

By Paul SandleMarch 07, 2017

LONDON (Reuters) – A British online service that matches elderly and disabled patients with home carers is expanding nationwide by adding another 25,000 care professionals to its database, founder Jamie Wilson said on Monday.

The expansion comes as British government, at both the national and local level, seeks to increase the provision of home care to take the pressure off hospitals run by the state-funded National Health Service in looking after an ageing population.

Finance minister Philip Hammond will announce 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) of additional funding for social care over two years in his budget statement on Wednesday, according to media reports.

HomeTouch, which is backed by venture capital firm Passion Capital and the Nominate Trust, which invests in digital companies that tackle social problems, enables users to find carers by filtering for skills such as dementia expertise, driving ability or an interest in gardening.

“This business was born out of my frustration as a dementia physician,” Wilson said in an interview.

“I saw many, many of my patients and their families reporting that the most troublesome problem for them was finding reliable home care.”

He said that home care agencies often pay low wages, resulting in a high turnover of staff and inconsistency in the level of service delivered to patients.

HomeTouch, which includes private health provider Bupa amongst its partners, matches carers directly with patients’ families, enabling the professional to manage the relationship and typically earn 50-75 percent more than they would earn through an agency, he said.

The platform uses some of the techniques pioneered by other online marketplaces, he said, such as client reviews, video profiles and advanced search.

HomeTouch takes a 20 percent commission on transactions through the platform, Wilson said, adding that the number of transactions on the site had grown fivefold every year since it launched in 2015.

More than 100,000 hours of care had been contracted on the platform in the third quarter of last year, he said.

HomeTouch’s nationwide expansion from its current base in southern England comes after it acquired the database of a rival site for a disclosed amount.

Wilson said the details of the 25,000 carers acquired in the deal will be transferred to the HomeTouch site once they had been fully vetted.

Reuters Health Information © 2017

Link to article here

Giddiness isn’t always vertigo

I often get called to see patients at home with vertigo (vertigo is a spinning sensation or feeling unbalanced). They’re too giddy to even stand, and so can’t visit the clinic. Most of the time this is usually harmless and gets better with some medications and rest.

Recently, I saw a 60+ year old patient who complained of giddiness and vomiting. He has had previous episodes of giddiness that the doctor diagnosed as vertigo. When I examined him, he was sweaty and his blood pressure was low. He recalled being breathless for the last 2 weeks after suffering from a bout of flu.

Turns out he had a heart attack. He was sent to the hospital and underwent heart surgery in a matter of hours. The give-away was the low blood pressure that should not happen with vertigo. Apart from vertigo, other causes of giddiness that may be potentially serious:

  • Low blood pressure
  • Heart failure/ Heart attacks
  • Strokes
  • Migraines

 

Increased aid to tackle dementia, mental health issues

Good to know that there is increased support for patients with dementia and mental health in the community. The condition affects about 40,000 people in Singapore today, but this number is expected to double by 2030 as the population ages.

Indeed, a good number of patients seen on house calls have dementia and mental health issues. These are often challenging and difficult to manage.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/increased-aid-to-tackle-dementia-mental-health-issues