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Review
. 2025 May;43(2):235-248.
doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2024.09.002. Epub 2025 Feb 17.

Emergency Care for Persons Living with Dementia

Scott M Dresden  1 , John C Dickens  2 , Alexander X Lo  3
Affiliations
Review

Emergency Care for Persons Living with Dementia

Scott M Dresden et al. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2025 May.

Abstract

Assessments are available which can help to identify emergency department (ED) patients who may have dementia. Persons living with dementia (PLWD) have unique emergency care needs such as difficulties with activities of daily living and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Multiple emergency care practices have shown improved outcomes for PLWD. Communication between clinicians and PLWD requires additional attention and should include care partners and other clinicians when possible. Transitions of care from the ED for PLWD are often problematic with poor outcomes. Interventions like community paramedicine follow up may improve the transition from the ED to the community.

Keywords: Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities; Communication; Dementia; Emergency care; Geriatrics; Transitions of care.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure Research reported in this publication received support from the National Institute on Aging, United States of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers R21/R33AG058926, R61/R33 AG069822. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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