1059 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG OLDER PEOPLE ADMITTED TO A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN MALAYSIA

Introduction

Physical inactivity is prevalent among hospitalised older people and is associated with poor outcomes. This study aims to determine activity levels in a Malaysian university hospital.

Method

Direct observation of patients admitted to the geriatric medicine ward over 2 weeks between the hours of 8 am-8 pm was performed. Data was collated onto an observation diary which was piloted, and changes made iteratively. A taxonomy of inpatient activity and healthcare staff interaction was created. Observer training was done to ensure familiarity and consistency in the recording. Data was presented descriptively and comparison made between weekday/weekend. Minutes of activity time per-hour (mins/hr) was use to report findings.

Results

Ninety-one patients were observed over 1918.8 hours (weekday, 1579.67 hours; weekends, 363.87 hours). The observed median (Q1,Q3) was 15.1 (9.4, 30.1) hours per-patient. 32.6 minutes per day on average was spent upright, with the rest spent either sitting or lying down. 78.9% of patients’ time was spent doing nothing. Patients’ position was different between weekdays vs weekends, lying, 35.7 vs 40.8 mins/hr; sitting, 23.3 vs 18.2 mins/hr; and standing, 1.1 vs 1.0 mins/hr. Patients spent significantly less proportion of time active at the weekends (weekdays, 28.3% vs weekends, 19.9%). When individual activities were analysed, patients were doing less walking (weekend, 0.4 vs weekday, 0.01 mins/hr, p = 0.01) therapy-supervised exercise (1.1 vs 0.02 mins/hr, p < 0.01), and nursing care (0.6 vs 0.1 mins/hr, p < 0.01) over the weekend. There was also less doctor interaction (weekday, 1.1 vs 0.5 mins/hr, p = 0.04) and no therapist interaction at the weekend. Nursing input was unchanged.

Conclusion

Older people admitted to a university hospital in Malaysia were very inactive. There was further reduction in activity levels and healthcare interaction at the weekend. Maintaining physical activity during hospitalisation is required to ensure best possible recovery from their acute illness.

Diagnostic accuracy of periapical radiography and cone beam computed tomography in detecting apical periodontitis using histopathological findings as a reference standard

AIM

To compare the diagnostic accuracy of periapical radiography (PR) and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in detecting apical periodontitis (AP) using histopathological findings as a reference standard.

METHODOLOGY

Jaw sections containing 67 teeth (86 roots) were collected from unclaimed bodies due for cremation. Imaging was carried out to detect AP by digital PR with a central view (DP group), digital PR combining central with 10˚ mesially and distally angled (parallax) views (DPS group) and CBCT scans. All specimens underwent histopathological examination to confirm the diagnosis of AP. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of PR and CBCT were analysed using rater mean (n = 5). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was carried out.

RESULTS

Sensitivity was 0.27, 0.38 and 0.89 for DP, DPS and CBCT scans, respectively. CBCT had specificity and positive predictive value of 1.0 whilst DP and DPS had specificity and positive predictive value of 0.99. The negative predictive value was 0.39, 0.44 and 0.81 for DP, DPS and CBCT scans, respectively. Area under the curve (AUC) for the various imaging methods was 0.629 (DP), 0.688 (DPS), and 0.943 (CBCT).

CONCLUSIONS

All imaging techniques had similar specificity and positive predictive values. Additional parallax views increased the diagnostic accuracy of PR. CBCT had significantly higher diagnostic accuracy in detecting AP compared to PR, using human histopathological findings as a reference standard.