Long-term care: News briefs
Group offers in-home Alzheimer’s test
A new at-home test for Alzheimer’s disease hit the market in May. The test can be administered and scored in the patient’s own home for less than $30, compared with costs ranging from $70 to $400 for other available Alzheimer’s assessment tools.
The In-Home Alzheimer’s Screening Test (I-HAST) concentrates on mental agility in a half dozen areas most commonly affected by Alzheim er’s. It comes with instructions and all the necessary tools for administration and scoring.
The test is the product of a two-year effort by the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation in Virginia Beach, VA. The six parts of the test resemble a word and pictures game. Each part takes less than 10 minutes to administer. Points are scored for missed answers, then totaled. Suggested indications and follow-up actions are provided for each scoring range.
A major evaluation of the test is planned for later this year to refine specificity and sensitivity. Individuals who purchase the test materials now may be included in the evaluation effort.
The test will be available in public libraries and bookstores. To register for the study or to purchase the test materials, call toll-free (877) 427-0220 or visit the foundation’s Web site at www. alzheimer’s-research.org.
Elderly run risk for dangerous meds
Nearly one in 20 prescriptions given to the elderly during visits with physicians at hospital-affiliated outpatient departments involve a medication that experts agree generally should be avoided in the geriatric population, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.
Age-related changes to the structure and function of various organs make certain drugs dangerous or even life-threatening in the elderly. Drugs considered inappropriate include these:
• diazepam (Valium);
• propoxyphene (Darvon);
• dipyridamole (Persantine);
• amitriptyline (Elavil);
• cholordiazepoxide (Librium).
Researchers note that the odds of receiving a prescription for a potentially inappropriate medication are greater when elderly patients receive:
• care from a physician to whom they were referred;
• prescriptions for more than one medication;
• care in an outpatient department outside a metropolitan area;
• prescriptions for dipyridamole or an antispasmodic agent such as cyclobenzaprine, which has little benefit in the elderly.
[See: Aparasu RR, Sitzman SJ. Inappropriate prescribing for elderly outpatients. Am J Health-Syst Pharm 1999; 56:433-439.]
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