Sex-Specific Differences in End-of-Life Burdensome Interventions and Antibiotic Therapy in Nursing Home Residents With Advanced Dementia.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Nursing home residents with advanced dementia have limited life expectancies yet are commonly subjected to burdensome interventions at the very end of life. Whether sex-specific differences in the receipt of these interventions exist and what levels of physical restraints and antibiotics are used in this terminal setting are unknown.

Objective

To evaluate the population-based frequency, factors, and sex differences in burdensome interventions and antibiotic therapy among nursing home residents with advanced dementia.

Design, setting, and participants

This population-based cohort study from Ontario, Canada, used linked administrative databases held at ICES, including the Continuing Care Resident Reporting System Long-Term Care database, which contains data from the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set, version 2.0. Nursing home residents (n?=?27?243) with advanced dementia who died between June 1, 2010, and March 31, 2015, at 66 years or older were included in the analysis. Initial statistical analysis was completed in May 2017, and analytical revisions were conducted from November 2018 to January 2019.

Exposure

Sex of the nursing home resident.

Main outcomes and measures

Burdensome interventions (transitions of care, invasive procedures, and physical restraints) and antibiotic therapy in the last 30 days of life.

Results

The final cohort included 27?243 nursing home residents with advanced dementia (19?363 [71.1%] women) who died between June 1, 2010, and March 31, 2015, at the median (interquartile range) age of 88 (83-92) years. In the last 30 days of life, burdensome interventions were common, especially among men: 5940 (21.8%) residents were hospitalized (3661 women [18.9%] vs 2279 men [28.9%]; P?Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, many nursing home residents with advanced dementia, especially men, received burdensome interventions and antibiotics in their final days of life. These findings appear to emphasize the need for sex-specific analysis in dementia research as well as the expansion of palliative care and end-of-life antimicrobial stewardship in nursing homes.

SUBMITTER: Stall NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6704739 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature