COMPREHENSIVE GERIATRIC ASSESSMENT

Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) has become an important tool among nurses for assessing older people, both in specialized care, such as primary care.

It consists of a structured, dynamic and multidisciplinary process, which allows intervention on each of the stages.

This review aims to maintain the functionality and / or delay or slowing of deterioration, it is important that this rating will be accompanied by a plan for monitoring and treatment to improve response and subsequently reassessed.

Mainstream means include: medical history, physical examination and assessment scales.

VALUATION OF CLINICAL AREA: includes the clinical interview, citing some of the great geriatric syndromes, communication difficulties, symptoms, history, review of systems using Virginia Henderson, pharmacological history, nutritional history using mini nutritional scale Assessment (MNA).

VALUATION OF FUNCTIONAL AREA: Information of the elderly about their normal activity, independence. Classifying activities:

- Activities of daily living (ADLs) including self-care and needs to survive.

- Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) that value activities to maintain independence in the home and in the community. Using the scale of Lawton and Brody.

- Advanced activities of daily living (AAVD) that value sociability patient and family role.

VALUATION OF MENTAL AND SOCIAL CAPACITY: it´s important to consider the affective sphere. For this we have multiple tests as Pfeiffer questionnaire, mini mental state examination of Folstein, mini mental state examination Lobo (MEC), and test clock.

VALUATION OF AFFECTIVE CAPACITY: very important to consider the nursing staff that depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in the elderly, accompanying anxiety. To assess the degree of depression we use the Yesavage geriatric depression scale.

In conclusion, the nursing staff is the closest and most important to assess these areas, if we avoid the rapid deterioration and avoid hospital admissions increased by getting more independent patients a better elderly population will be achieved.

And do not forget the importance of avoiding depression in the elderly, as this, will worse any situation where the elderly are.

               Vanessa Garcia Palomares

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

-          MARTÍN LESENDE, Iñaki; GORROÑOGOITIA ITURBE, Ana (2009). “Efectividad de la valoración geriátrica integral en atención primaria”. Madrid, Portal Mayores, Informes Portal Mayores, nº 92. [Fecha de publicación: 20/07/2009]. http://www.imsersomayores.csic.es/documentos/documentos/martin-efectividad-01.pdf

-          Cortés N Alma Rosa, Villarreal R Enrique, Galicia R Liliana, Martínez G Lidia, Vargas D Emma Rosa. Evaluación geriátrica integral del adulto mayor. Rev. méd. Chile  [revista en la Internet]. 2011  Jun [citado  2013  Mar  25] ;  139(6): 725-731. Available on: http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-98872011000600005&lng=es.  doi: 10.4067/S0034-98872011000600005.