Evaluation of cognitive functions in 65 years and older patients admitted to Hacettepe University Faculty Of Medicine Adult Emergency Department

Emergency departments are places where geriatric patients frequently apply. It is important for this group of patients to have proper cognitive functions in order to receive correct diagnosis and treatment. The test to be used to evaluate cognitive functions in the emergency department should be practical and reliable. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the BOMC test in assessing cognitive functions in patients aged 65 years and older admitted to the emergency department. The study was designed as a single-center, prospective, observational study. A total of 93 patients aged 65 years and older with a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) 15 and vital signs within normal limits who were admitted to the Adult Emergency Department of Hacettepe Hospital between 15.01.2024 and 30.06.2024 for any reason were included in the study. Demographic features, complaint at presentation to the emergency department, vital signs, comorbid diseases, prediagnosis, nutrition admission mobilization status of the patients were recorded. The RASS scale was applied to the patients, and patients with a score of 0 were considered awake and calm and BOMC test was performed. All of these patients were referred to the geriatrics outpatient clinic for dementia examination. The patients were evaluated in terms of forgetfulness and dementia by applying MMSE. Chi-square test or Fisher test was used to compare categorical variables, independent group t test was used for variables with parametric distribution between groups, and Mann Whitney U test was used for variables without parametric distribution. Of the patients, 37 (39.8%) were male and 56 (60.2%) were female. The median age of the patients was 72 years. The mean age of the patient group with BOMC score ≤ 4 was significantly lower than the mean age of the group with BOMC score > 4 (p=0.003). Again, the mean scores obtained from the MMSE test were higher in the group with BOMC score > 4 than in the group with BOMC score ≤ 4 (p=0.0001).The number of forgetful patients according to the MMDT test was significantly higher in patients with BOMC score > 4 than in patients with BOMC score ≤ 4 (p=0.011). The BOMC test is an easy, practical and reliable test for the evaluation of cognitive functions in patients aged 65 years and older in emergency departments.