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The Gerontologist 43:85-93 (2003)
© 2003 The Gerontological Society of America

Lower Respiratory Infections in Nursing Home Residents With Dementia: A Tale of Two Countries

David R. Mehr, MD, MS1,, Jenny T. van der Steen, PhD2, Robin L. Kruse, PhD, MSPH1, Marcel E. Ooms, MD, PhD3, Marilyn Rantz, RN, PhD4 and Miel W. Ribbe, MD, PhD3

Correspondence: Address correspondence to David R. Mehr, MD, MS, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia, M228 Medical Sciences Building, 1 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO 65212. E-mail: Mehrd{at}health.missouri.edu

Purpose:A focus on palliative care for residents with dementia is much more common in Dutch nursing homes than in the United States. We compared treatment and mortality in U.S. and Dutch nursing home residents with lower respiratory infections (LRI), which are often the immediate cause of death in dementia. Design and Methods:We studied two prospective cohorts—a study of pneumonia (n = 706) conducted in 61 psychogeriatric nursing homes throughout the Netherlands and 701 subjects with likely dementia from a study of LRIs in 36 nursing homes in Missouri. Results:Nursing home residents with dementia were more often treated without antibiotics in the Netherlands (23%) than in Missouri (15%). Indicators of severe illness operate in opposite directions: more severe illness is associated with antibiotic treatment in the United States, but with palliative treatment without antibiotics in the Netherlands.Implications:Our findings are consistent with others in indicating problems with transition to palliative care for U.S. nursing home residents with dementia.

Key Words: Nursing homes • Aged • Dementia • Palliative care • Lower respiratory infection




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