Validation of a Screening Tool to Assess Dehydration in Hospitalized Older Population

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The study aims to verify the sensitivity and specificity of a tool to assess the state of hydration of the older person to identify those at risk of dehydration.

Detailed Description
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Dehydration is the result of insufficient ﬂuid intake and can be consequent to an alteration of thirst mechanisms or ﬂuid loss from the intestinal and respiratory tracts. The use of diuretics can lead to dehydration too. The risk of dehydration induced by acute or chronical diseases is increased in older people because of the reduced capacity to maintain a proper fluid balance. Lower muscle mass, reduced kidney function, physical and cognitive disabilities, blunted thirst, and polytherapy are recognized as main factors for dehydration risk in older people.For these reasons, coordinated efforts are necessary to develop comprehensive assessment tool to monitor hydration in hospitalised older adults. We need to develop a pathway of screening to detect early stage dehydration in older patients in order to correct it precociously. Presently, no standardized clinical dehydration assessment method exists and there are relatively few papers investigating hydration status. A new tool was created: the Geriatric Dehydration Screening Tool - Modified doesn't require laboratory parameters, and thus its use is feasible outside hospital settings. The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the Geriatric Dehydration Screening Tool - Modified in the assessment of the hydration status of hospitalized older population.

Official Title
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Clinical Validation of a Screening Tool to Assess Dehydration in Older Population

Conditions
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Dehydration Hypertonic, Aged

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Complete blood tests: Urea, Glucose, Sodium, Potassium reported not more than 24 hours before the observation; Absence of known cognitive impairments (Mini-Mental State Examination > 24). Exclusion Criteria: Age < 65; Mini-Mental State Examination < 24.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Dehydrated participants<br>125 participants ≥ 65 years of age at the moment of the interviews; hospitalized in General Medicine; osmolarity ≥ 296 mOsm/L | |
| Hydrated participants<br>97 participants ≥ 65 years of age at the moment of the interviews; hospitalized in General Medicine; osmolarity < 296 mOsm/L | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Diagnostic accuracy | The diagnostic accuracy of Geriatric Dehydration Screening Tool-Modified in detecting dehydrated older people, compared to the standard reference (serum osmolarity) | baseline | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Screening tool