Didier Schoevaerdts

• Catholic University of Louvain

Background Nursing home residents (NHR) have complex health needs due to their multimorbidity and frailty, challenging interorganisational collaboration, particularly between nursing homes (NH) and hospitals. Coronavirus disease pandemic highlighted the need to strengthen the expertise of NHs care teams. Geriatric mobile teams (GMT) exist in severa...

Background While the benefits of physiotherapy for hospitalized older patients (HOPs) are well established, these patients are often considered demotivated by healthcare team members (HTMs), which is perceived as a hindrance to their rehabilitation. The quantitative data currently available on the lack of involvement of HOPs are mainly measures of...

Aims The Health in Smart Rurality Interreg project aims to assess the feasibility of telemonitoring in rural areas across the Franco-Belgian border among patients affected by heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The objectives were to better understand strengths or barriers to implementing telemonitoring for early detection of po...

Background As cognitive functions and, more specifically, executive functions (EF) seem to influence autonomy among the elderly, we investigated the role of each of the five EF sub-components (inhibition, spontaneous flexibility, reactive flexibility, planning, and updating in working memory) for the risk of functional decline. Method A total of 1...

Objectives Oldest-old patients may have an unusual SARS-COV2 presentation that can jeopardise diagnosis and management. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of oldest-old (≥85 years) and old patients (75–85 years) admitted with COVID-19 to Belgian hospitals during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods We...

Background Benzodiazepine receptor agonist (BZRA) use is highly prevalent in hospitalised older people although these drugs are associated with numerous and serious adverse events. Deprescribing can reduce risks associated with chronic BZRA use. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of, and factors associated with, BZRA deprescribing...

The incidence of infections increases with age and results in a higher risk of morbidity and mortality. This rise is not mainly related to chronological age per se but has been linked mostly to individual factors such as immunosenescence; the presence of comorbidities; the occurrence of geriatric syndromes such as poor nutrition, polypharmacy, and...

Objectives To explore the prevalence and potential risk factors of postprandial hypotension (PPH) among elderly patients in an acute geriatric ward. Design A prospective observational study. Setting Geriatric Unit in a Belgian tertiary-care University Hospital. Participants Seventy-six hospitalized elderly patients after stabilization of their a...

Objectives Following two studies conducted in 2005 and 2011, a third prevalence survey of multidrug-resistant microorganisms (MDRO) was organised in Belgian nursing homes (NHs) using a similar methodology. The aim was to measure the prevalence of carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE),...

Background The use of STOPP–START criteria during hospitalization reduced inappropriate medications in randomized controlled trials. Objective To evaluate whether the implementation of a screening tool (short version of STOPP–START criteria) in routine geriatric practice reduces potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) and potential prescribing...

See the Reply by Piers et al.

Le delirium, encore appelé “confusion aiguë”, est une affection fréquente, grave et grevée de complications sévères. Pourtant des mesures simples permettent de le prévenir ou du moins d’en réduire l’incidence, la durée et la gravité.

A national survey was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), extended-spectrum β-lactamases-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBLE) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) among nursing home residents in Belgium. A random stratified, national prevalence survey was conducted in n...

Background: About 40% of all adverse events in hospital are falls, but only about one in three Belgian hospitals have a fall prevention policy in place. The implementation of a national practice guideline is urgently needed. Objective and design: This multicentre study aimed to determine the feasibility of a previously developed guideline. SETTI...

The objective of this study was to examine whether asymptomatic colonization with MDRB would affect outcomes in older patients one year after hospitalization in a geriatric ward. Patient samples were analyzed to identify specific MDRBs, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enteroba...

Major features of the psychomotor disadaptation syndrome (SDPM) include motor skill dysfunctions with alteration of postural capabilities, walking abilities and psychomotric automatisms. Mini motor test (TMM) is the gold standard used by skilled physiotherapists in order to assess the syndrome. The aim of this article is to present the elaboration...

To determine prevalence, incidence and risk factors of colonization by extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriacae (ESBLE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) in aged subjects admitted to an acute geriatric unit at a teaching hospital. During 12 months, 337 patients were scr...

Description of the clinical pictures of patients colonized or infected by ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates and admitted to hospital are rather scarce in Europe. However, a better delineation of the clinical patterns associated with the carriage of ESBL-producing isolates may allow healthcare providers to identify more rapidly at risk pati...

Fall incidents and their negative outcomes represent a considerable problem in hospitals, especially in geriatric wards, and require implementation of strategies to prevent these undesirable events. For this reason, the College of Geriatrics, a body funded by the Belgian Government to set up quality improvement initiatives in geriatric wards, selec...

Les personnes qui souffrent de maladies cerebrales degeneratives de type Alzheimer et apparentees evoluent progressivement vers des formes avancees et meurent prematurement des complications de cet etat. En effet les demences sont des maladies terminales qui abregent l’esperance de vie, au meme titre que des maladies chroniques comme l’insuffisance...

Background: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are associated with high morbidity and mortality in geriatric patients. Rapid detection of carriers upon admission to hospital may help implementing infection control strategies to minimize nosocomial transmission. We evaluated the GeneXpert System (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA) us...