TY - JOUR
T1 - Which Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) instruments are currently used in Germany
T2 - a survey
AU - Kudelka, Jennifer
AU - Ollenschläger, Malte
AU - Dodel, Richard
AU - Eskofier, Bjoern M.
AU - Hobert, Markus A.
AU - Jahn, Klaus
AU - Klucken, Jochen
AU - Labeit, Bendix
AU - Polidori, M. Cristina
AU - Prell, Tino
AU - Warnecke, Tobias
AU - von Arnim, Christine A.F.
AU - Maetzler, Walter
AU - Jacobs, Andreas H.
N1 - Funding
Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. The study was partially funded by the German Society of Geriatrics (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geriatrie, DGG).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/4/17
Y1 - 2024/4/17
N2 - Background: The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) records geriatric syndromes in a standardized manner, allowing individualized treatment tailored to the patient’s needs and resources. Its use has shown a beneficial effect on the functional outcome and survival of geriatric patients. A recently published German S1 guideline for level 2 CGA provides recommendations for the use of a broad variety of different assessment instruments for each geriatric syndrome. However, the actual use of assessment instruments in routine geriatric clinical practice and its consistency with the guideline and the current state of literature has not been investigated to date. Methods: An online survey was developed by an expert group of geriatricians and sent to all licenced geriatricians (n = 569) within Germany. The survey included the following geriatric syndromes: motor function and self-help capability, cognition, depression, pain, dysphagia and nutrition, social status and comorbidity, pressure ulcers, language and speech, delirium, and frailty. Respondents were asked to report which geriatric assessment instruments are used to assess the respective syndromes. Results: A total of 122 clinicians participated in the survey (response rate: 21%); after data cleaning, 76 data sets remained for analysis. All participants regularly used assessment instruments in the following categories: motor function, self-help capability, cognition, depression, and pain. The most frequently used instruments in these categories were the Timed Up and Go (TUG), the Barthel Index (BI), the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Limited or heterogenous assessments are used in the following categories: delirium, frailty and social status. Conclusions: Our results show that the assessment of motor function, self-help capability, cognition, depression, pain, and dysphagia and nutrition is consistent with the recommendations of the S1 guideline for level 2 CGA. Instruments recommended for more frequent use include the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the WHO-5 (depression). There is a particular need for standardized assessment of delirium, frailty and social status. The harmonization of assessment instruments throughout geriatric departments shall enable more effective treatment and prevention of age-related diseases and syndromes.
AB - Background: The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) records geriatric syndromes in a standardized manner, allowing individualized treatment tailored to the patient’s needs and resources. Its use has shown a beneficial effect on the functional outcome and survival of geriatric patients. A recently published German S1 guideline for level 2 CGA provides recommendations for the use of a broad variety of different assessment instruments for each geriatric syndrome. However, the actual use of assessment instruments in routine geriatric clinical practice and its consistency with the guideline and the current state of literature has not been investigated to date. Methods: An online survey was developed by an expert group of geriatricians and sent to all licenced geriatricians (n = 569) within Germany. The survey included the following geriatric syndromes: motor function and self-help capability, cognition, depression, pain, dysphagia and nutrition, social status and comorbidity, pressure ulcers, language and speech, delirium, and frailty. Respondents were asked to report which geriatric assessment instruments are used to assess the respective syndromes. Results: A total of 122 clinicians participated in the survey (response rate: 21%); after data cleaning, 76 data sets remained for analysis. All participants regularly used assessment instruments in the following categories: motor function, self-help capability, cognition, depression, and pain. The most frequently used instruments in these categories were the Timed Up and Go (TUG), the Barthel Index (BI), the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Limited or heterogenous assessments are used in the following categories: delirium, frailty and social status. Conclusions: Our results show that the assessment of motor function, self-help capability, cognition, depression, pain, and dysphagia and nutrition is consistent with the recommendations of the S1 guideline for level 2 CGA. Instruments recommended for more frequent use include the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the WHO-5 (depression). There is a particular need for standardized assessment of delirium, frailty and social status. The harmonization of assessment instruments throughout geriatric departments shall enable more effective treatment and prevention of age-related diseases and syndromes.
KW - Activities of daily living
KW - CGA
KW - Cognition
KW - Comorbidities
KW - Comprehensive geriatric assessment
KW - Delirium
KW - Depression
KW - Dysphagia
KW - Frailty
KW - Self-help capability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85190500519&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38627620
U2 - 10.1186/s12877-024-04913-6
DO - 10.1186/s12877-024-04913-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 38627620
AN - SCOPUS:85190500519
SN - 1471-2318
VL - 24
JO - BMC Geriatrics
JF - BMC Geriatrics
IS - 1
M1 - 347
ER -