To determine the diagnostic accuracy of state, minimally invasive clinical and physical signs (or sets of signs) to be used as screening tests for detecting impending or current water-loss dehydration, or both, in older people by systematically reviewing studies that have measured a reference standard and at least one index test in people aged 65 years and over. 1 Clinical and physical signs for identification of impending and current water-loss dehydration in older people (Protocol)

Urine sampling can be used to estimate weight loss due to dehydration in adults up to age 70. A robust dehydration index based on four indicators reduces the influence of confounders.

AimsAlthough patients with heart failure (HF) may suffer from severe thirst, this has received little attention in scientific studies. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify and analyse data on thirst in HF. Methods and resultsPubmed, Cochrane, Cinahl, and Medline databases were searched for original studies on patients with HF with thirst as an outcome measure. Of 174 screened citations, nine articles were included, in which a total of 4375 HF patients had been studied. Four studies comprising 181 patients provided visual analogue scale (VAS) scores. Median thirst intensity ranged from 23 to 75 mm (VAS 0-100 mm). One study showed 2% prevalence of thirst in a placebo group and another study showed that 46% of HF patients (n ¼ 25) experienced thirst distress. Thirst was described as annoying and as a cause of suffering. In most studies, the main results reflect a poor description of several dimensions of thirst. Factors that affected thirst were related to treatment, HF condition, demographics, and emotions. The consequences of thirst in HF were related to compliance, preoccupation with thirst, and a negative impact on quality of life. ConclusionThirst may be increased and experienced as distressing in patients with HF, but there is limited knowledge about the causative factors. More research is needed to study the effects of thirst and effective interventions in order to relieve troublesome thirst in HF patients.--

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