Kenneth Schmader

..Up to 20% of patients with HZ develop PHN, which is moderate-to-severe chronic pain persisting for months or years after the acute phase. We review the available data on the effect of HZ and PHN on patients' quality-of-life...

..Although these advances have helped, PHN remains a difficult condition to prevent and treat in many elderly patients...

..For PHN, evidence-based pharmacotherapy can reduce pain burden. The zoster vaccine is effective in reducing pain burden and preventing HZ and PHN in older adults...

..Given the central nervous system damage caused by HZ, the difficulty of adequately treating HZ to prevent PHN, and the intractability of PHN, the advent of the HZ vaccine appears to be a crucial innovation for preventing HZ and PHN...

..PERSPECTIVE: This article presents information on the clinical features and treatment of herpes zoster. This information will help clinicians diagnose and manage herpes zoster pain...

..To determine if inpatient or outpatient geriatric evaluation and management, as compared with usual care, reduces adverse drug reactions and suboptimal prescribing in frail elderly patients...

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..This article reviews the prevalence, risk factors, natural history, and impact on quality of life of painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)...

..This study examines the incidence and predictors of all and preventable ADRs in frail elderly persons after hospital discharge, a highly vulnerable but rarely studied population...

..Medication underutilization, or the omission of a potentially beneficial medication indicated for disease management, is common among older adults but poorly understood...

..The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for surgical site infections and to quantify the impact of these infections on health outcomes in elderly patients following orthopaedic surgery...

..Biological agents are proving to be increasingly useful and exciting additions to the antineoplastic armamentarium, but many clinicians are unfamiliar with the properties of these types of agents...

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..To develop order entry algorithms for five common nursing home problems and to test their acceptance, use, and preliminary effect on nine quality indicators and resource utilization...

..To identify risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)...

..There is limited objective information regarding the impact of drugs identified as inappropriate by drug utilization review (DUR) or the Beers drugs-to-avoid criteria on health service use...

..Study objectives were to identify groups of older patients with similar patterns of health care use in the 12 months preceding an index outpatient emergency department (ED) visit and to identify patient-level predictors of group membership...

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..An Emergency Department (ED) visit represents a time of significant risk for an older adult; however, little is known about adverse outcomes after an ED visit in the VA system...

..Ranolazine is increasingly being prescribed for the treatment of chronic stable angina. This report describes an adverse effect that may be related to ranolazine...

..To determine whether suboptimal pharmacotherapy increases the risk of adverse outcomes in older adults discharged from the emergency department (ED)...

..The goal of this study was to determine the frequency and predictors of adverse outcomes among older adults discharged from the ED...

..Since increased oxidative stress may impair cognition and be a risk factor for dementia, there has been interest in determining whether use of antioxidants could protect against such events...

..Insights and opinions pertaining to modalities for SSI prevention in the elderly population and areas of import for future research are discussed...

..The objective of the present study was to determine the relationship between increasing age and risk of SSI...

..To report an outbreak of respiratory synctyial virus (RSV) in a long-term care facility (LTCF) during ongoing routine respiratory illness surveillance...

..To determine the efficacy of a zoster vaccine on herpes zoster (HR)-related interference with activities of daily living (ADLs) and health-related quality of life (HRQL)...

..The clinical and financial outcomes of SSIs directly attributable to MRSA and methicillin-resistance are largely uncharacterized. Previously published data have provided conflicting conclusions...

..Additional research is warranted on use of products with the silk-like fabric, alone or in combination with highabsorbencybriefs, in larger groups and different populations...

..To determine the effect of surgical site infection (SSI) on mortality, duration of hospitalization, and hospital cost in older operative patients...

..CONCLUSIONS: Among elderly surgical patients, S. aureus SSI was independently associated with increased mortality, hospital-days, and cost. In addition, being at least 70 years old was a predictor of death in patients with S. aureus SSI...

..Answers to emerging research questions will support the integration of geriatrics and nephrology and thus improve care for older patients at risk for chronic kidney disease...

..To describe the persistent use of evidence-based cardiovascular medications (EBCMs) 3 months after discharge from an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) event and patient-reported reasons for nonpersistence across age groups...

..Older patients were less likely to interrupt ART, which suggests better adherence and/or tolerance and may explain the higher rate of HIV RNA suppression...

..To describe a series of older adult patients with postherpetic myofascial pain, a heretofore rarely described complication of herpes zoster...

..To determine the prevalence and predictors of unnecessary drug use at hospital discharge in frail elderly patients...

..The literature underlying the consensus recommendations is reviewed. Multiple revisions led to final reviews of 2 complete drafts before consensus was reached...

..Drugs can improve quality of life for many older people, but they may cause adverse health outcomes (eg, drug-disease interactions) if used inappropriately...

..This study evaluated the relationship between the use of histamine(2) receptor antagonists and cognitive decline among community dwelling elderly...

..Specific recommendations for the use of these medications are provided. In addition, suggestions are made for treatments that, when used in combination with antiviral therapy, may further reduce pain and other complications of HZ...

..Research on administration of the varicella-zoster vaccine to prevent herpes zoster and on treatment of patients who have herpes zoster with combined antiviral and analgesic therapy to prevent PHN is discussed...

..Longitudinal studies in older people are needed to examine the impact of inappropriate drug prescribing on health-related outcomes...

..Thus, there is considerable interest in the potential contribution of antioxidants to the prevention of these diseases...

..Older adults may have decreased homeostatic reserve, have multiple chronic diseases, and take multiple medications. Therefore, they are at risk for adverse outcomes after receiving a drug that exacerbates a chronic disease...

..Further research on the occurrence, risk factors for and types of therapeutic failure is needed in a larger cohort of older non-veterans...

..The predictive validity of Drug Utilization Review (DUR) and drugs-to-avoid criteria in elders is unknown...

..Inappropriate prescribing in frail elderly inpatients has not received as much investigation as in frail elderly nursing home patients...

..Continued progress in basic and clinical research on the pathophysiologic mechanisms of neuropathic pain may make it possible to predict effective treatments for individual patients by application of a pain mechanism-based approach...

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..Answers to the questions posed are likely to help prioritize and balance strategies to slow the progression of HIV infection, to address comorbidities and drug toxicity, and to enhance understanding about both HIV infection and aging...

..Before administration of zoster vaccine, patients do not need to be asked about their history of varicella (chickenpox) or to have serologic testing conducted to determine varicella immunity...

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..Identifying a uniform set of risk factors would be helpful to develop risk models for ADRs for older outpatients and to implement targeted interventions for those patients at high risk for ADRs...

..PERSPECTIVE: Comprehensive assessments of pain are necessary for clinical research on the epidemiology, natural history, pathophysiologic mechanisms, treatment, and prevention of pain in herpes zoster and PHN...

..VZV vaccines can boost VZV-CMI. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that VZV vaccination would protect older adults against HZ and PHN...

..The award fits into past and future career development by providing a bridge from earlier academic activities to the expansion of mentoring and research skills and to program leadership in geriatrics. ..