Fall Risk & Injuries
This geriatric syndrome is the leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI), hospitalization, and death for adults aged 75 and older.
Falls
This assessment acronym helps nurses detail a patient's pain by evaluating its onset, location, duration, characteristics, aggravating/relieving factors, and treatment.
OLD CART
This eye disorder is characterized by cloudiness in the lens, causing blurred vision, halos around lights, faded color perception, and an absent red reflex.
Cataracts
This form of age-related sensorineural hearing loss progressively worsens over time, is usually permanent, and primarily involves pathogenesis of the cochlea.
presbycusis
This "silent disorder" involves an accelerated loss of bone mineral density with aging, and is presumed if an elder loses 3 or more inches in height or develops kyphosis.
Osteoporosis
Only 50% to 60% of older adults will recover their pre-fracture ambulation abilities within the first year following this specific skeletal injury.
hip fracture
These behavioral changes, rather than verbal expressions, are how cognitively impaired or aphasic elders typically communicate pain.
agitation, aggression, increased confusion, or passivity
To prevent increased intraocular pressure and complications after cataract surgery, patients must strictly avoid these three physical movements.
heavy lifting, straining, and bending at the waist
This specific clinical communication phenomenon occurs when a hearing-impaired elder agrees to everything and appears to understand information when they actually did not hear it.
listener bluffing
Due to a severe risk of esophageal erosion, these medications must be taken on an empty stomach with a full glass of water, while keeping the patient completely upright for 30 to 60 minutes.
bisphosphonates
This psychological condition, also known as fear of falling, causes older individuals to restrict their activities, leading to further functional decline and social isolation
Fallophobia
This specialized behavioral tool utilizes a 0-to-2 scale across four domains—breathing, negative vocalizations, facial expression, and body language—to evaluate pain in advanced dementia.
PAINAD scale
This condition, which is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S., presents with headaches, glare sensitivity, and impaired peripheral vision.
Glaucoma
This is the most common and easily corrected cause of conductive hearing loss among older adults.
cerumen impaction
This degenerative joint disorder is marked by stiffness after inactivity that resolves within 30 minutes of movement, as well as crepitus during joint extension.
osteoarthritis (OA)
These person-specific fall risk factors include reduced vision, an unsteady gait, cognitive impairment, and the effects of medications.
intrinsic risk factors
This specific pharmacological dosing schedule is necessary to consistently relieve and prevent pain in order to erase the "memory of pain".
around-the-clock (ATC) dosing
This eye disease is characterized by microvascular leakage, vessel permeability, and macular edema, requiring strict blood glucose control and annual dilated examinations.
diabetic retinopathy
This condition involves the perception of ringing, buzzing, or clicking in the ears when no external sound is present, and can be managed by tracking patterns in a diary.
tinnitus
This chronic, autoimmune joint disorder causes warm, tender, and symmetrical joint swelling, along with morning stiffness that lasts longer than 30 minutes.
rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
This type of side rail use is defined as a restraint when it prevents a patient from voluntarily exiting the bed, but it excludes half- or quarter-length rails used for repositioning assistance.
restrictive side rail use (or two full-length/four half-length raised side rails)
This class of adjuvant medications, which includes gabapentin, is noted to be highly effective for treating sharp, shooting, or burning neuropathic pain with fewer side effects than tricyclics.
anticonvulsants
This degenerative disease affects the central part of the retina, progressively destroying clear central vision while leaving peripheral vision intact.
age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
This is the second most common cause of sensorineural hearing loss, which is permanent but largely preventable through the use of proper protective devices and education.
noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL
This inflammatory condition is triggered by the accumulation of uric acid crystals in a joint, and nurses must ensure a fluid intake of 2 liters per day to flush it out.
Gout