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Olga N Tkacheva,1 Nadezda K Runikhina,1 Arkadiy L Vertkin,2 Irina V Voronina,1 Natalia V Sharashkina,1 Elen A Mkhitaryan,1 Valentina S Ostapenko,1 Elena A Prokhorovich,2 Tamar Freud,3 Yan Press3–5 1Russian Gerontology Clinical Research Center, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University of Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, 2Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry named after AI Evdokimov, Moscow, Russia; 3Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Sial Family Medicine and Primary Care Research Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 4Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Unit, Clalit Health Care Services, Yassky Clinic, 5Community-Based Geriatric Unit, Division of Community Health, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel Background: Delirium, a common problem among hospitalized elderly patients, is not usually diagnosed by doctors for various reasons. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a short training course on the identification of delirium and the diagnostic rate of delirium among hospitalized patients aged ≥65 years. The secondary aim was to identify the risk factors for delirium. Methods: A prospective study was conducted in an acute-care hospital in Moscow, Russia. Six doctors underwent a short training course on delirium. Data collected included assessment by the confusion assessment method for the intensive care units, sociodemographic data, functional state before hospitalization, comorbidity, and hospitalization indices (indication for hospitalization, stay in intensive care unit, results of laboratory tests, length of hospitalization, and in-hospital mortality). Results: Delirium was diagnosed in 13 of 181 patients (7.2%) who underwent assessment. Cognitive impairment was diagnosed more among patients with delirium (30.0% vs 6.1%, P=0.029); Charlson comorbidity index was higher (3.6±2.4 vs 2.3±1.8, P=0.013); and Barthel index was lower (43.5±34.5 vs 94.1±17.0, P=0.000). The length of hospitalization was longer for patients with delirium at 13.9±7.3 vs 8.8±4.6 days (P=0.0001), and two of the 13 patients with delirium died during hospitalization compared with none of the 168 patients without delirium (P=0.0001). Conclusion: Although the rate of delirium was relatively low compared with studies from the West, this study proves that an educational intervention among doctors can bring about a significant change in the diagnosis of the condition. Keywords: delirium, elderly, inpatients, Russia

To check the proposed hypothesis that the relative content of individual polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)--substrates and inhibitors of prostanoid synthesis--in plasma can be regarded as a quantitative risk factor of blood clotting, a test was conducted on free fatty acids content in blood plasma of healthy people (group 0) and patients with heart ischemia before (group 1) and after (group 2) they were treated for a month with a food additive called "Eiconol," enriched with PUFA omega 3. Different proportions of PUFAs have been calculated in all cases, accounting for the contribution of each acid to the process of primary clotting. Comparison of PUFA rations among the three groups showed significant differences of means between groups 0 and 1 and also group 1 and 2 for 6 out of 7 proposed coefficients, which disappeared after "Eiconol" treatment (comparison of groups 0 and 2). The results led to the conclusion that out of the proposed PUFA proportions, the coefficients describing the relative content of arachidonic acid in blood plasma may be the most informative for diagnosis and treatment efficiently in evaluation of heart and vascular diseases.

The efficacy of isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) and nitroglycerin was studied in 115 patients with acute transmural myocardial infarction admitted to the Coronary Care Unit not later than 12 h after the onset of chest pain: 58 patients not later than 2 h after the onset of chest pain, 49 after 3-6 h and 8 patients in the period of 6-9 h. There were 69 men and 45 women, mean age 62.4 +/- 0.9 years. The duration of the preceding clinically evident coronary artery disease was in 12 patients 1 year, in 29 2-3, in 22 4-5 and in 16 patients 6 years or more. In 36 cases the chest pain of acute infarction was the first presentation of coronary artery disease. Thirty-seven patients had a previous myocardial infarction. Fifty patients had concomitant systemic hypertension. The patients were divided into 3 groups depending on the type of therapy received: group I, receiving anticoagulants only, served as control; patients of groups II and III received, in addition to the anticoagulants, intravenous ISDN or nitroglycerin, respectively. The patients were monitored for recurrent chest pain, electrocardiographic changes, clinical parameters and cardiac enzyme changes. ISDN, at a dose of 10 mg/h over the first 3 days of infarction, had marked antianginal effect, limited the dimensions of the necrotic area, reduced the number of ischemic relapses and the development of heart failure. Compared to nitroglycerin, ISDN exerted a more prolonged action (up to 12 h), did not affect heart rate and blood pressure, and had a marked antiarrhythmic effect.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)