Hi guys,
I saw an elderly man this past week in the geriatric day hospital, and it was the first time I'm saw him. It soon occurred to me that he was severely debilitated and had mobility issues. It was kind of odd as his mobility has had a sudden decline in the last week. His son called and reported that he needed to pull his dad out of the chair this morning.
During my treatment, the man became incontinent of urine, and there was a very distinct pungent odour. I figured that this man was having an acute UTI and referred him to the nurses for a check. It was confirmed positive and I referred him back to see his GP for follow-up Rx.
It's pretty classical in its presentation, but my supervisor has told me not to let any elderly slip past you with a UTI or chest infection. Now that I've "smelt" what a UTI smells like, I'd never forget that! So remember, if there's a rather odd unexplainable decline in an elderly's mobility, ask them about their continence and other symptoms eg. fever, unwell...etc. It's most probably a UTI that can be treated quickly with antibiotics.
1 comment:
Hi Mark,
Congratulations firstly on recognising such an issue,letting the right people know and allowing this man to be treated effectively. I have done alot of work with the elderly and it shocks me sometimes to see how some patient's problems are not analysed ad treated properly for many reasons, some of which because people don't believe the what the patient is reporting. I do understand that sometimes the elderly and confused patients don't make much sense, but I think it is very important that any such significant changes should be investigated appropriately, just like they would for a young person.
Thanks also for giving us the heads-up about UTI's - thank goodness I've never had the pleasure (??!!) of getting that close to smelly urine!!!
Kate.
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