For patients over 65, hospitalization for an acute illness may also be accompanied by a decline in cognitive ability that goes undiagnosed or even unnoticed says research by Sharon Inouye, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Aging Brain Center at Hebrew SeniorLife.
Studying 460 patients age 70 and older, she found that 39 percent suffered from recoverable cognitive dysfunction (RCD) based on the results of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Nearly 80 percent of cases showed no relationship to delirium or dementia and most proved to be reversible once detected, highlighting the need to better screen for this under-recognized dysfunction.
Read more: Cognitive Decline is Often Undetected in Hospitalized Seniors
ABSTRACT: Recoverable Cognitive Dysfunction at Hospital Admission in Older Persons During Acute Illness