Faculty

Needs Statement

Co-morbid chronic health conditions may be responsible for the appearance of dementia or sudden changes in cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric symptoms of disease. Such disease states are often overlooked and go untreated as the worsening or appearance of symptoms is erringly attributed to the underlying dementia state. Recognizing and treating co-morbid medical conditions remains a conundrum in persons with dementia that may not always express their symptoms in an understandable way.

Our data demonstrates that 1 out of 3 patients experiencing cognitive decline have a treatable medical condition other than a degenerative dementia responsible for their symptoms, yet these are overlooked by their primary care providers. Comorbid urinary tract infections, pneumonia, arthritic flair ups with intense pain are all well recognized causes of abrupt worsening of dementia; yet some providers have not been educated on the effects of such illnesses and how they interact with an underlying dementia syndrome.

Target Audience

This is for ALL Certified Nursing Facilities personnel in Kentucky.

Objectives

Upon completion of this educational activity, participants will be able to:

• Assess acute and chronic health comorbidities on cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric symptoms that may or may not be associated with an underlying degenerative dementia
• Demonstrate newly acquired skills utilizing a series of cases in the diagnosis and management of co-morbid medical conditions that may be responsible for or be exacerbating dementia symptoms in the aged population
• Improve diagnosis and management of chronic health conditions that are distinct, yet interact with underlying dementia conditions

Accreditation

In support of improving patient care, University of Kentucky HealthCare CECentral is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

CME
This enduring material is designated for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Other
UK Healthcare CECentral certifies this activity for 1.25 hours of participation.

CNE
The maximum number of hours awarded for this Continuing Nursing Education activity is 1.25 nursing contact hours.

Faculty Disclosure

Elaine R. Peskind, MD (Speaker) has relevant financial relationships with commercial interests as follows:
Avanir, Acadia, and Esai - Scientific Advisory Board - Consultant Fee
Takeda - Adjudication Committee - Consultant Fee

No other speaker, planner, or content reviewer has any relevant financial relationships to disclose. 

The material presented in this course represents information obtained from the scientific literature as well as the clinical experiences of the speakers. In some cases, the presentations might include discussion of investigational agents and/or off-label indications for various agents used in clinical practice. Speakers will inform the audience when they are discussing investigational and/or off-label uses.

Content review confirmed that the content was developed in a fair, balanced manner free from commercial bias. Disclosure of a relationship is not intended to suggest or condone commercial bias in any presentation, but it is made to provide participants with information that might be of potential importance to their evaluation of a presentation.

Acknowledgment

The KEEN-CDC Initiative is funded through CMS Grant #2018-04-KY- 0329 and the Kentucky Office of the Inspector General.

Review Dates

This CE Activity was recorded from a live webinar that occurred on March 3, 2020.