Practical Dementia Care

by Peter V Rabins (Editor), Constantine G Lyketsos (Editor), Cynthia D Steele (Editor)

Overview

This is a comprehensive, yet practical guide to the care and management of patients with dementia from time of diagnosis to the end of life. It is intended for the increasing number of physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, rehabilitation therapists, and long-term care givers responsible for the care of individuals with dementia. In the Third Edition, the authors have increased their emphasis on the use of non-pharmacologic treatments for behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms and incorporated the previous edition's chapter on genetics into their discussion of specific diseases that cause dementia. Other sections that have received extensive revision or expansion include those on diagnostic techniques, early prevention, evaluation of clinical needs, and variations between sites of care.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199376858
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/01/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Peter V. Rabins is the founding director of the Division of Geriatric and Neuropsychiatry in the Johns Hopkins Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He was the Richman Family Professor of Alzhiemer's disease and related disorders.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Definitions and overview of the book Constantine G. Lyketsos Chapter 2 Neurodegenerative diseases causing dementia Paul Rosenberg, Gregory Pontone, Chiadikaobi Onyike CHAPTER 3 Other diseases causing dementia Peter V. Rabins CHAPTER 4 The evaluation and formulation of dementia Constantine G. Lyketsos CHAPTER 5 Overview of dementia care Quincy Samus and Betty Black CHAPTER 6 Supportive care for the patient Constantine G. Lyketsos and Peter V. Rabins CHAPTER 7 Support for the family and care providers Peter V. Rabins and Constantine G. Lyketsos CHAPTER 8 Disease specific therapies and symptomatic cognitive enhancement Christopher Marano and Constantine Lyketsos CHAPTER 9 Neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia: general approach and non-pharmacologic treatment Helen C. Kales CHAPTER 10 Pharmacologic treatments for neuropsychiatric symptoms Christopher Marano and Constantine G. Lyketsos CHAPTER 11 Prevention, early detection and mild cognitive impairment Paul Rosenberg CHAPTER 12 Care in Advanced disease Peter V. Rabins CHAPTER 13 Ethical and Legal Issues Peter V. Rabins

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Danielle Anderson, MD (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
Description: This is the third edition of a comprehensive book that takes a holistic approach to the care of persons with neurocognitive disorders. Meant to be a practical guide, it provides background information about the dementias as well as guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of persons with dementia. This update of the 2006 edition includes extensive revision and expansion of chapters reviewing diagnostic techniques, early prevention, early detection, and evaluation of clinical needs. It also has a greater emphasis on the use of nonpharmacological interventions for the treatment of behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Finally, it incorporates the previous chapter on genetics into the discussions of specific diseases that cause neurocognitive disorders.
Purpose: The stated purpose is to provide "a practical source of information and reference for the practitioner providing day to day care to patients with dementia and their families," not to be a comprehensive reference.
Audience: The audience is professionals providing day-to-day care to people who suffer from dementia and their families, which includes primary care and specialist physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, occupational and physical therapists, and gerontologists.
Features: This book provides a holistic look at the evaluation and care of dementia patients spanning disease progression from preclinical to advanced stages. The book starts with an overview of the definition of dementias and background information about the most common diseases causing neurocognitive disorders. It provides clear recommendations on how to systematically evaluate and formulate a person's condition. It then describes treatment of those with dementias, including pharmacological treatment, nonpharmacological treatment, communication techniques to assist with care, and support for caregivers and patients. Associated behavioral and medical conditions are reviewed. The chapter on treating nonpharmacological behavioral problems outlines a systematic approach to determining underlying causes of neuropsychiatric symptoms and advice for treating common triggers. The chapter on prevention and early dementia detection has been extensively updated. The book closes with a discussion of advanced dementia care and of ethical and legal issues that may arise. The authors have succeeded in making this book user friendly. It is not intended as a comprehensive reference, but rather as a practical book for clinicians to use on a daily basis in taking care of individuals with dementia. References are presented at the end of the book organized by chapter. The charts and graphs are useful and may entail checklists, tips, and flowcharts for quicker reference by practitioners.
Assessment: This is an excellent addition to the armamentarium of any practitioner who treats persons with neurocognitive disorders. It is clearly written, explicit in its explanations, and it simplifies complicated concepts. The advice that is expressed can only come from extensive experience, which makes this an invaluable resource. It enables practitioners to help patients and their families navigate this disease with more than purely medical assessment and treatment. It provides expert opinion about techniques useful for handling problems commonly encountered in dementia patients. This runs the gamut of discussing the patient's cognitive status, assessing for caregiver stress, navigating through neuropsychiatric symptoms, and helping provide forward planning. Rather than giving a laundry list of possible scenarios and neuropsychiatric difficulties with potential solutions, this book helps readers in thinking through the process of this disease.

Doody's Review Service

"This is a nicely written description of dementia for health care professionals... I liked this book, which I thought provided a reasonably detailed account but in a clear and understandable way. If the unit for which you work cares for more than an occasional patient with dementia, this would be a useful volume to have on the library shelf, particularly for new members of staff." - Roger Woodruff, January 2017

From the Publisher