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CLINICAL PROFILE OF PATIENTS WITH SYMPTOMATIC GLYCYRRHIZIN‐INDUCED HYPOKALEMIA
Author(s) -
Kurisu Satoshi,
Inoue Ichiro,
Kawagoe Takuji,
Ishihara Masaharu,
Shimatani Yuji,
Nakama Yasuharu,
Maruhashi Tatsuya,
Kagawa Eisuke,
Dai Kazuoki,
Aokage Toshiyuki,
Matsushita Junichi,
Ikenaga Hiroki
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.01781.x
Subject(s) - hypokalemia , medicine , glycyrrhizin , diabetes mellitus , gastroenterology , creatine kinase , creatinine , endocrinology
To the Editor: We read with great interest the paper by Hwang et al. and congratulate them on the detailed analysis of the challenges facing emergency departments (EDs) caring for older patients. We agree that a geriatric ED (GED) is an important service in every hospital caring for old people. We wish to inform the authors and the readers that a GED has been operating in the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, for the past decade. The GED is a separate unit within the emergency medical services of the hospital that is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week and admits every patient aged 70 and older. Geriatricians, a resident, an attending physician, a geriatric nurse, and a social worker staff the department. Consultative services from all disciplines in the hospital are available, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Routine evaluation of all patients includes, in addition to medical history and physical examination, functional (activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental ADLs) and cognitive (Mini-Mental State Examination) evaluations, fall risk assessment, depression (Geriatric Depression Scale), and social evaluation. The GED has direct access to continued care services, including acute and subacute care departments, home hospital, geriatric rehabilitation departments, skilled nursing departments, and a palliative care center, enabling patients to receive the optimal and most appropriate care that they deserve. To assess the contribution of the GED to the institution, 100 consecutive patients presenting to the GED at the Hadassah-Mount Scopus campus were compared with 100 consecutive patients presenting to the ED at the HadassahEin Kerem campus (where no GED exists). All patients were aged 70 and older. Subjects were followed prospectively for 6 months post-ED discharge and a comparison of the two departments was performed for satisfaction with ED treatment, rate of independence in ADLs, and readmission rate. Results showed