Shunji Suto

Pacing and lapping movements among institutionalized patients with dementia.

Wandering is a complex behavior, and defining wandering has been challenging. The current study used the integrated circuit (IC) tag monitoring system to describe the distance moved per day and the spatial movements of patients with dementia. The study was conducted in a 60-bed semiacute dementia care unit in a general hospital in Japan over a 3-month period in 2006. The distance moved per day, the numbers of pacing and lapping movements, and the proportions of the distance moved that was paced or lapped were tabulated in 23 patients diagnosed with dementia. The distance moved per day and the numbers of pacing and lapping movements varied greatly within and among study participants. The median distance moved per day was inversely correlated with participants’ age and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores (adjusted r2 = .34, P = .01). Consecutive lapping and pacing movements were rare patients with in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), while 2 patients with frontotemporal dementia paced or lapped repeatedly.

Comparing dementia patients’ nighttime objective movement indicators with staff observations

Background:  Pharmacological and non‐pharmacological approaches are commonly used to treat patients’ institutionalised for nighttime wandering. Actigraphy and other scales have been used to evaluate the efficacy of these treatments. However, in clinical settings, nursing records are often the sole source of daily observation of nighttime wandering. Thus, physicians rely on nursing records to evaluate pharmacological and non‐pharmacological treatments. This study examined nighttime movements of patients with dementia, comparing the results of integrated circuit tag monitoring with hourly nighttime nursing records. We tested which factors were associated with agreement rates between the two data sources.

Changes in activity patterns after the oral administration of brotizolam in institutionalized elderly patients with dementia

Background:  Little is known about the side effects of sedative‐hypnotic agents in elderly dementia patients with sleep disorders. The present study describes activity pattern changes after a single dose of brotizolam in elderly patients with dementia.

Discrepancy between subjective and objective assessments of wandering behaviours in dementia as measured by the Algase Wandering Scale and the Integrated Circuit tag monitoring system.

Although wandering is one of the major research focuses of the behavioural psychological symptoms of dementia, assessment of wandering has mostly relied on caregiver‐administered questionnaires. The purpose of this study was to compare staff‐administered Algase Wandering Scale outcomes with objective temporal and spatial movement indicators obtained from the Integrated Circuit (IC) tag monitoring system.

Analysis of inedible substance ingestion at a Japanese psychiatric hospital

Inedible substance ingestion increases the risk of ileus, poisoning, and suffocation. Prevention is especially important in a psychiatric setting. This study aimed to analyze the incidence of inedible substance ingestion in a Japanese psychiatric hospital.

Quantitative Evaluation of Changes in the Clock-Watching Behavior of a Patient With Semantic Dementia

Background: Clock-watching activity in patients with dementia has not been documented in detail. Methods: A male patient having semantic dementia was monitored at a dementia care unit in a general hospital in Japan. We used an integrated circuit monitoring system to record the distance and location of ambulation and the total number of movements that occurred outside the patient’s room. Results: The patient was reported to clock watch a couple of years prior to monitoring. In 2011, when monitoring started, he regularly came out of his room saying, “8 o’clock” about 40 minutes into every hour. It seemed as if he could only recognize the minute hand. The median number of sensor detections increased by 4-fold at this clock-watching phase. Behavior consistent with his clock-watching patterns was also detected during the night. In 2012, clock-watching activity disappeared. Conclusions: This study documented the progression of clock-watching and subsequent disappearance with worsening cognitive function.