The Geriatric specialist is a fundamental figure in the care of patients with Alzheimer’s, as highlighted by the Andalusian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology.
In their initial phases they are family doctors the first usually to detect the problem of memory failures, disorientation and other cognitive functions; and the neurologists They are responsible for confirming the diagnosis and initiating treatment to stop the evolution of the process.
The Geriatric specialist is a fundamental figure in the care of patients with Alzheimer’s, especially in the final phase of the disease.
But during the evolutionary course, Alzheimer’s is a disease that generates many problems, both for the patient and for their family and caregivers. Psychiatric problems such as hallucinations, delusions, aggressiveness, depression, insomnia, wandering, or other behavioral disorders; and medical problemssince no two patients are the same, and due to the advanced age of onset, comorbidities are frequent: other diseases that appear, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, chronic bronchitis, osteoarthritis, etc.
These diseases require treatments that are sometimes difficult to administer, since they refuse to be injected with insulin, they do not know how to administer bronchodilators, they spit out the medicines, they tear off the patches, etc. And it is the caregivers who suffer the great difficulty of managing this disease and all its associated problems, generating great stress and emotional overload for the family that cares for them.
And as stated by the Andalusian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology, the Geriatrician is a specialist who can be of great help for this type of patients and their families, due to their global vision, knowledge in psychogeriatrics, rehabilitation and palliative care, comprehensive assessment capacity, detection of complex problems, and multidisciplinary teamwork, together with nursing, social work, psychology, physiotherapist or occupational therapy, to develop joint individualized treatment plans.
The The figure of the Geriatrician becomes even more relevant in the final phase of the diseasewhere the patient is already heavily dependent, needs help in all activities of daily living, and complications appear such as dysphagia or difficulty swallowing, or pressure ulcers sequelae of immobility, which can become infected. «We must make complex decisions, with individualized ethical reflections, which must be centered on the patient and agreed upon with each family, in order to achieve their best quality of life; avoiding diagnostic or therapeutic measures that do not help to improve him, as well as unnecessary hospitalizations, but guaranteeing maximum comfort until the end of his life»they affirm from the .
This medical society, which will hold its 40th Congress on October 25 and 26 in Jerez de la Frontera under the slogan “Attention to the elderly, multidisciplinary approach to its complexity”remember that Alzheimer’s is the most frequent cause of dementia, it is a neurodegenerative disease, chronic, progressive and incurable It initially affects cognitive functions, progressively disabling the patient, with the appearance of multiple complications during its evolution.