Search

Background: Elderly population is vulnerable to develop a multitude of dermatological diseases, owing to comorbidities and polypharmacies. Objective: To know the prevalence of dermatological conditions in elderly patients attending outpatient department, determine the pattern and relative frequency of skin diseases, and find the relation with associated comorbidities. Materials and Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study on 250 patients, aged ≥60 years. Clinical diagnosis was done, followed by appropriate investigations when required. Descriptive data was analyzed on the parameters of range, mean ± S.D., frequencies, etc., Continuous variables were analyzed using unpaired t-test/Mann–Whitney U test and categorical data by Fisher's exact test/Chi-square test. Statistical software Medcalc version 10.2.0.0 for Windows vista was used. P value =0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 250 patients were evaluated, 164 males (65.5%) and 86 females (34.4%). Mean age was 67.87 ± 7.29 years. Commonest disease category was infection (30%), followed by dermatitis (29.6%), papulo-squamous (18.4%), and immunobullous (6.4%). Difference in acute and chronic disease was significant (P = 0.0001). 30% had infections; fungal (50.66%), bacterial (32%), and viral (17.33%). 74 patients had dermatitis (29.6% of study population). Commonest systemic disease was hypertension (23.2%), followed by diabetes mellitus (19.6%). Association of diabetes mellitus was significant (P = 0.0014), more in infective dermatoses (P = 0.0007). All had signs of aging; idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis (51.2%), xerosis (45.2%), seborrheic keratosis (42.6%), cherry angioma (33.2%), senile acne (6.6%). Photoaging was noted as wrinkling (98.8%), freckles (35.6%), purpura (10.8%), telangiectasia (5.6%). People involved in outdoor activity had higher Glogau scale (3.01 ± 0.69) compared to those indoors (2.44 ± 0.74), statistically significant difference (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Our study is the first of its kind, in Eastern India, where we evaluated and explored the disease pattern and extent of geriatric dermatoses among patients attending dermatology OPD of a tertiary care hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In-hospital care of stroke patients can reduce the risk of death and disability. There is an emerging evidence for the routine use of care pathways (CPs) for acute stroke management. Our aim was to develop evidence-based CPs and test the hypothesis that acute stroke management by CPs is superior to that provided by conventional care.Materials and Methods: An acute stroke CP was designed in accordance with the recent American Stroke Association (ASA)/American Heart Association (AHA) stroke guidelines and the Indian Academy of Neurology (IAN) stroke management guidelines in India. A total of 162 acute stroke patients, who were managed within 72 hours of onset of their symptoms, were enrolled prospectively in two groups-the stroke care pathway (CP) arm (n = 77) and the conventional care (CC) arm (n = 85). The incidence of aspiration pneumonia, complications during the hospital stay, and death or dependency at discharge and at 90 days were among the main outcomes of our study.Results: The CP arm had a lower incidence of aspiration pneumonia (AP) in comparison with the CC arm (6.5% vs. 15.3%, risk ratio [RR] = 0.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.16-1.14, P = 0.062). The CP group had a decreased risk of requirement of mechanical ventilation (7.8% vs. 17.6%, odds ratio [OR] = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.14-1.07, P = 0.05). Barthel and modified Rankin Scale scores were similar in both the groups, but death at 90 days was significantly lesser in the CP arm (7.8% vs. 20%, P = 0.022). This benefit was most prominent in the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) subgroup scoring 9-15 (RR = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.03-0.71). There were no significant differences in the other outcome measures.Conclusion: Stroke CPs reduce the incidence of aspiration pneumonia, the need for mechanical ventilation, and the risk of death, when assessed at a follow-up of 90 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]