Physical Comorbidities of Dementia

by Susan Kurrle, Henry Brodaty, Roseanne Hogarth

Overview

Dementia is reaching epidemic proportions. To date treatment has focused on cognitive and behavioural symptoms and their management, but the physical side has been neglected. Physical comorbidity is extremely common in people with dementia and leads to excess disability and reduced quality of life for the affected person and their family. Physical comorbidity is often treatable if not reversible. Epilepsy, delirium, falls, oral disease, malnutrition, frailty, incontinence, sleep disorders and visual dysfunction are found to occur more frequently in dementia sufferers. Physical Comorbidities of Dementia describes how these may present and gives detailed information and evidence-based recommendations on how to recognise and manage these conditions. Written by clinicians, each chapter deals with a separate condition accompanied by a list of recommendations for management. Physical Comorbidities of Dementia provides practical explanations and solutions to help all healthcare professionals to improve care for people with dementia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107648265
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/28/2012
Pages:	134
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.28(d)

About the Author

Susan Kurrle is Curran Chair in Health Care of Older People at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, and Geriatrician and Clinical Director, Division of Rehabilitation and Aged Care, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Health Service, Hornsby, NSW, Australia.

Henry Brodaty is Scientia Professor of Ageing and Mental Health and Director at the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, and Director, Aged Care Psychiatry at Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Roseanne Hogarth is a Clinical Nurse Consultant in dementia at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Foreword; Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Falls; 3. Delirium; 4. Epilepsy; 5. Weight loss and nutritional disorders; 6. Incontinence; 7. Sleep disorders; 8. Visual dysfunction; 9. Oral disease; 10. Frailty; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Any health professional working with PWD ought to have access to a copy of this useful little tome, and I think I will be a better doctor to my patients for having read it."
International Psychogeriatrics

From the Publisher