The prevalence of visual impairment among elderly patients admitted to hospital is unknown. This group of patients may be particularly at risk from poor vision which could jeopardise their independence. A prospective study of visual impairment and its aetiology in acute geriatric admissions assessed after the acute illness had settled was performed. Subjects were all patients aged 65 years or over, excluding those chronically confused, admitted to the Department of Geriatric Medicine at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital with an acute medical illness. After the acute illness had settled visual impairment, as defined by the American criteria (best acuity 6/18), was assessed on the ward with a Snellen chart read at 6 m using binocular vision and current glasses. Those patients identified with impaired vision on initial screening were formally assessed in the ophthalmology department to identify the cause. 200 patients were examined. 101 patients (50.5%) had impaired vision. In these patients, correctable refractive errors were present in 40%, cataract in 37% and senile macular degeneration in 14%. Of the 101 patients with impaired vision 79% had a reversible cause. Comparing these results with a recent study in the community showed a much higher incidence for patients admitted to hospital. There was a particularly high prevalence in those elderly patients who were admitted with falls (76%, p = 0.0003). In conclusion, elderly patients, especially those presenting with falls, admitted to hospital have a high prevalence of visual impairment. Visual impairment may be compounding or causing falls. Hence, screening the elderly ‘faller’ admitted to hospital for visual impairment may be beneficial to the patient and cost-effective as many of the causes are simply reversible.

SummaryBackground -An association between asthma and gastro-oesophageal reflux is well recognised but the underlying mechanism is unclear. One suggestion is that gastric juice is aspirated into the tracheal and upper airways but detection of these events is difficult and involves radioisotopic studies. A new method of making direct measurements of tracheal and oesophageal pH over a 24 hour period is described, together with its application to patients with asthma. Methods -The technique involves insertion of simultaneous tracheal and oesophageal pH probes under general anaesthesia. Continuous monitoring of pH over a 24 hour period is possible, permitting comparison with peak flow readings during wakefulness and at night should the patient be disturbed. Representative data from four patients with asthma (mean FEV1 62% predicted) and symptomatic gastro-oesophageal reflux, together with data from three non-asthmatics, is presented. Results -Thirty seven episodes of gastrooesophageal reflux lasting more than five minutes were recorded. Of these, five were closely followed by a fall in tracheal pH from a mean (SE) of 7-1 (0.2) to 4-1 (0.4) and a fall in peak expiratory flow (PEFR) of 84 (16) I/min. When gastrooesophageal reflux occurred without tracheal aspiration the fall in PEFR was 8 (4) I/min. Conclusions -This new technique was well tolerated and allowed quantitation of the number, duration, and timing of episodes of tracheal micro-aspiration. Unlike acid reflux without aspiration, these events appear to be related to significant acute changes in lung function in asthmatic patients. Further studies with this new method may elucidate the role of gastrooesophageal reflux in asthma. (Thorax 1995;50:201-204)

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Objectives: To assess any change in the oral flora in the mouths of stroke patients during the acute and rehabilitation phases and to determine whether this is related to episodes of aspiration pneumonia and clinical outcome. Materials and Methods: This observational study was carried out in hospital wards in a University teaching hospital. The subjects were patients immediately post-stroke and during the rehabilitation period, acute admissions and a group of healthy volunteers. An assessment of dentition and swallow in the presence or absence of oral aerobic gram-negative bacilli (AGNB) was correlated. Results: Of the acute stroke patients 52% had an unsafe swallow. AGNB carriage was documented in 34% of the acute stroke group. Of the 11 patients who died 55% had AGNB, 73% had an unsafe swallow and 36% had a combination of both. Conclusion: AGNB is a common finding in acute stroke patients. It is not a consequence of age or acute hospitalisation and is associated with an unsafe swallow and a higher mortality.

Vitamin E or beta-carotene supplementation had no effect on skin sensitivity to UVR. Although vitamin E supplements significantly reduced the skin malondialdehyde concentration, neither supplement affected other measures of UVR-induced oxidative stress in human skin, which suggested no photoprotection of supplementation.