Involving end-users in the co-design of new technologies is necessary for building tailored devices. Moreover, in this area of dementia care, the person-centred approach is essential to a tailored wandering management.

ObjectiveDirect oral anticoagulants have been evaluated in the general population, but proper evidence for their safe use in the geriatric population is still missing. We compared the bleeding risk of a direct oral anticoagulant (rivaroxaban) and vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) among French geriatric patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) aged ≥80 years.MethodsWe performed a sequential observational prospective cohort study, using data from 33 geriatric centres. The sample comprised 908 patients newly initiated on VKAs between September 2011 and September 2014 and 995 patients newly initiated on rivaroxaban between September 2014 and September 2017. Patients were followed up for up to 12 months. One-year risks of major, intracerebral, gastrointestinal bleedings, ischaemic stroke and all-cause mortality were compared between rivaroxaban-treated and VKA-treated patients with propensity score matching and Cox models.ResultsMajor bleeding risk was significantly lower in rivaroxaban-treated patients (7.4/100 patient-years) compared with VKA-treated patients (14.6/100 patient-years) after multivariate adjustment (HR 0.66; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.99) and in the propensity score–matched sample (HR 0.53; 95% CI 0.33 to 0.85). Intracerebral bleeding occurred less frequently in rivaroxaban-treated patients (1.3/100 patient-years) than in VKA-treated patients (4.0/100 patient-years), adjusted HR 0.59 (95% CI 0.24 to 1.44) and in the propensity score–matched sample HR 0.26 (95% CI 0.09 to 0.80). Major lower bleeding risk was largely driven by lower risk of intracerebral bleeding.ConclusionsOur study findings indicate that bleeding risk, largely driven by lower risk of intracerebral bleeding, is lower with rivaroxaban than with VKA in stroke prevention in patients ≥80 years old with non-valvular AF.

In this population of very old patients with acute dyspnoea, despite being independently associated with the cardiac aetiology, BNP was not useful for better discriminating cardiac vs. respiratory origin.

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Polypharmacy is an issue among mCRPC patients. In our study, half of the patients have potential DDI with abiraterone. Patients with pain and poor PS are at higher risk of DDI with abiraterone. A medication review by a pharmacist is of crucial importance to prevent DDI with abiraterone.

Background. In older patients with cancer, depression is difficult to assess because of its heterogeneous clinical expression. The 4-item version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-4) is quick and easy to administer but has not been validated in this population. The present study was designed to test the diagnostic performance of the GDS-4 in a French cohort of older patients with cancer before treatment. Materials and Methods. Our cross-sectional analysis of data from the Elderly Cancer Patient cohort covered all patients with cancer aged ≥70 and referred for geriatric assessment at two centers in France between 2007 and 2018. The GDS-4's psychometric properties were evaluated against three different measures of depression: the geriatrician's clinical diagnosis (based on a semistructured interview), the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and a cluster analysis. The scale's sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) were calculated. Results. In a sample of 2,293 patients (median age, 81 years; women, 46%), the GDS-4's sensitivity and specificity for detecting physician-diagnosed depression were, respectively, 90% and 89%. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 8.2 and 0.11, and the AUROC was 92%. When considering the subset of patients with data on all measures of depression, the sensitivity and specificity values were, respectively, ≥90% and ≥72%, the positive and negative likelihood ratios were, respectively, ≥3.4 and ≤0.11, and the AUROC was ≥91%. Conclusion. The GDS-4 appears to be a clinically relevant, easy-to-use tool for routine depression screening in older patients with cancer. The Oncologist 2021;9999:• • Implications for Practice: Considering the overlap between symptoms of cancer and symptoms of depression, depression is particularly difficult to assess in older geriatric oncology and is associated with poor outcomes; there is a need for a routine psychological screening. Self-report instruments like the 4-item version of the Geriatric Depression Scale appears to be a clinically relevant, easy-to-use tool for routine depression screening in older patients with cancer. Asking four questions might enable physicians to screen older patients with cancer for depression and then guide them toward further clinical evaluation and appropriate care if required.

The mechanisms that allowed for the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant to rapidly outcompete pre-existing variants in many countries remain poorly characterized. Here, we analyzed viral release, anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and cytokine production in a retrospective series of 427 RTqPCR+ nasopharyngeal swabs collected in COVID-19 patients harbouring either non-B.1.1.7 or B.1.17 variants. We utilized a novel rapid assay, based on S-Fuse-T reporter cells, to quantify infectious SARS-CoV-2. With both non-B.1.1.7 and B.1.1.7 variants, viral titers were highly variable, ranging from 0 to >106 infectious units, and correlated with viral RNA levels. Lateral flow antigenic rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) were positive in 96% of the samples harbouring infectious virus. About 67 % of individuals carried detectable infectious virus within the first two days after onset of symptoms. This proportion decreased overtime, and viable virus was detected up to 14 days. Samples containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG or IgA did not generally harbour infectious virus. The proportion of individuals displaying viable virus or being RDT-positive was not higher with B.1.1.7 than with non- B.1.1.7 variants. Ct values were slightly but not significantly lower with B.1.1.7. The variant was characterized by a fast decrease of infectivity overtime and a marked release of 17 cytokines (including IFN-b, IP-10, IL-10 and TRAIL). Our results highlight differences between non-B.1.1.7 and B.1.1.7 variants. B.1.1.7 is associated with modified viral decays and cytokine profiles at the nasopharyngeal mucosae during symptomatic infection.

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