Physical and Vestibular Physical Therapy Referrals in People With Alzheimer Disease.

Physical and Vestibular Physical Therapy Referrals in People With Alzheimer Disease. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2020 May 27;: Authors: Gandhi P, Klatt BN, Agrawal Y Abstract People with Alzheimer disease (AD) are at increased risk of falls and disproportionately burdened with vestibular impairment compared with healthy older adults. Although physical therapy (PT) and vestibular physical therapy (VPT) are effective rehabilitation interventions in improving balance and fall risk, referral patterns for these services in the AD population are understudied. A retrospective chart review was conducted of patients seen for primary AD care at a tertiary AD referral center to investigate the frequency of rehabilitation referrals. Of the 801 people with AD seen for AD care in 1 year, 48 individuals (6.0%) were referred to PT and 5 individuals (0.6%) to VPT. People with AD appear to receive very infrequent PT and VPT referrals, despite the potentially large number of people with AD who could benefit from PT and VPT services to improve their balance and vestibular function. PMID: 32467425 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord Source Type: research