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P2‐260: Misplacing objects in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: A descriptive analysis from the video‐imaging synthesis of treating Alzheimer's disease clinical trial
Author(s) -
Hamilton Laura,
Fay Sherri,
Rockwood Kenneth
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2008.05.1336
Subject(s) - forgetting , dementia , recall , disease , psychology , set (abstract data type) , galantamine , mnemonic , medicine , psychiatry , donepezil , cognitive psychology , computer science , programming language
Background: Misplacing objects is a commonly reported symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. Even though misplacing is often described as a warning sign of dementia, there is little systematic description of this symptom. We report on patient and carer descriptions of misplacing. Methods: This is a secondary, qualitative analysis of video-recorded, semi-structured, goal setting and attainment interviews with 130 community-dwelling patients with mild-to-moderate AD ( mean age 77 /7.7; 63% women; 67% mild AD) who participated in the Video-Imaging Synthesis of Treating Alzheimer’s Disease (VISTA) study; a 4-month, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of galantamine [CMAJ 2006;174: 1099-1105; doi:10.1503/cmaj.051432]. Interviews were coded and analyses using framework analysis to capture and summarize patient/carer descriptions of the misplacement of objects. Results: Incidents of misplacing objects were described for 103/130 of the study patients, 46 of whom established treatment goals to track this problem. Two types of misplacing were indentified: forgetting where something had recently been placed (99/103 patients, 96%), and; placing an object in other than its habitual or “correct” place e.g. putting the dishes under the sink, where they do not belong (31/103, 30%). Most people (86/99) who misplaced a recent item described forgetting where they set down an object. Other problems included being unable to recall the location of an item that was purposefully put away (22/99), including 10 patients who purposefully concealed or hid objects from others. Of the people who put objects in incorrect places, most often this referred to objects from the kitchen. Conclusions: Patients with mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease who took part in the VISTA study evinced two distinct types of misplacing objects. Most could not recall where an item was set down or put away. A smaller group had misplaced objects in inappropriate / unusual places. These simple descriptors can aid disease recognition, and are candidate targets for treatment.