ArticleEuropean geriatric medicine2020
The collateral history: an overlooked core clinical skill.
Article in European geriatric medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Social support and psychological distress among family caregivers of palliative patients at two rural hospitals in Malawi: a cross-sectional study.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- The Single Question in Delirium as a suitable tool to improve delirium detection in hospitalized older patients.European geriatric medicine · 2025Article
- Validating a brief performance-based measure of cognition and daily functioning in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2025Article
- Post-operative delirium in the patient with hip fracture: The journey from hospital arrival to discharge.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Review
- Improving communication at NHS Nightingale Hospital North West: Medical updates to next of kin.The International journal of risk & safety in medicine · 2022Article
- Article
- Largest sized enterolith ileus due to a duodenal diverticulum in a virgin abdomen causing small bowel obstruction.BMJ case reports · 2021Article
- When collateral is "the" lateral.European geriatric medicine · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposePatients with cognitive impairment are often unable to provide information relating to their pre-morbid cognition and function. Such information is essential to correctly identifying delirium and dementia, as well as making an accurate diagnosis and planning appropriate treatment. It is the standard of care recommended by the EuGMS.
methodsWe reviewed medical notes and administered a short questionnaire to nursing staff of a convenience sample of 100 patients aged ≥ 75 years admitted to medical wards in a tertiary teaching hospital.
resultsThere were 100 patients with a mean age of 82.3 years, 49% of whom were female. Of 43 patients with cognitive impairment, 19 (44%) had a collateral history. Half of the patients described as having dementia did not have any further detail on the severity of dementia documented. Among those for whom a collateral history was obtained, the level of detail regarding pre-morbid cognition, function, mobility, and continence was sparse. Of the total sample, 13% had formal cognitive testing.
conclusionAcute illness characteristically causes significant impairments in cognition and function in frail older patients. Identifying and reversing these impairments is impossible without a comprehensive collateral history. It is alarming that such an essential component of clinical assessment is so often disregarded and highlights the lack of awareness from clinicians of the importance of collateral history in the management of patients with dementia and delirium. This must be emphasised in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.
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