GeriPal - A Geriatrics & Palliative Care Podcast

The Long-Lasting Effects of Delirium: Tammy Hshieh, Ed Marcantonio, & Thiago Avelino-Silva

1.3K views · 5d ago · 45:14

Delirium is probably the single most common issue I see in clinical practice as a palliative care consultant for our hospital's very geriatric population. I would say that only about half the time we are consulted has the team consulting us recognized that the patient has delirium. I would guess that about 25% of the time there is an obvious culprit or set of culprits that lead to resolution of the delirium, e.g.

How Can We Improve Surgical Care for Older Adults? With Aaron Baggs, Emily Finlayson, & Ali Torbati

434 views · 1w ago · 49:49

How Can We Improve Surgical Care for Older Adults? Unpacking the ACS Geriatric Surgery Verification Program On this week's episode, we sat down with surgeons Dr. Emily Finlayson and Dr. Aaron Baggs, and geriatrician Dr. Ali Torbati to discuss how the GSV Program came to be, what it takes for a hospital system to earn verification, and how it's shaping the way surgeons and multidisciplinary teams care for older adult patients.

Can We Prevent Cognitive Decline in Aging? Multi-Domain Trials with Laura Baker and Ellen Binder

751 views · 2w ago · 46:30

Guest: Laura Baker

Can we prevent age-related cognitive decline, and perhaps even head off Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias before they start? Pharmaceutical companies are spending billions searching for a magic bullet pill to answer that question. But what if the solution requires more than a single drug? What if real prevention demands a multi-domain approach that combines targeted diet, exercise, social engagement, and vascular risk factor management among other things?

When to Start or Stop Statins in Older Adults: Tim Anderson, Rita Redberg, Mike Rich

1.6K views · 3w ago · 45:10

In 1987, lovastatin became the first FDA-approved statin in the United States. Four decades later, statins are among the most frequently prescribed medications nationwide, with atorvastatin topping the overall list. Now, updated guidelines have expanded statin eligibility to cover nearly every older adult.

Hot New Drugs in Palliative Care: Max Stevenson, Alex McPherson, and Nisha Iyer

2K views · 1mo ago · 50:33

When you think of palliative care pharmacotherapy, you probably think about the tried-and-true mainstays of our field like morphine, haloperidol, and senna. But the landscape of palliative symptom management is rapidly evolving, with hot new drug classes and rediscovered old-school opioids (and not just buprenorphine!)

Interactive Maps of Aging: Judy Salerno and Lindsay Goldman

680 views · 1mo ago · 40:50

Love the story Judy Solerno tells at the start of this podcast. The story is about how John Snow, the father of modern epidemiology, mapped out cases of Cholera in London in the year 1854. He was able to identify a concentration of cases near a neighborhood water pump. Simply removing the handle from the pump halted the outbreak. This is one of the earliest recorded uses of maps for public health purposes.

Flu, COVID, RSV, & Shingles Vaccines in Older Adults: Ken Schmader and Sharon Brangman

1.7K views · 1mo ago · 46:08

Just in time for respiratory virus season, this episode of the podcast breaks down essential vaccine guidance for older adults. From flu, COVID-19, and RSV to an added bonus deep dive into shingles, we cover everything you need to know to protect older adults this season.

Financial Mistakes and Exploitation in Dementia: Lauren Nicholas, Duke Han, Jason Karlawish

1K views · 1mo ago · 43:59

Guest: Dr. Lauren Hersch Nicholas

Difficulty managing money is often one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, frequently appearing years before an official diagnosis. This loss of financial capacity leaves individuals vulnerable to costly mistakes and exploitation, threatening the financial security and quality of life of entire families.

Weight loss, GLP-1s and Sarcopenia: A Podcast with John Batsis, Shen Dewar, Aruna Josyula

5.4K views · 2mo ago · 45:50

Guest: John Batsis

GLP-1 receptor agonists (the "Ozempics of the world") have been a truly revolutionary pharmacological advance in modern medicine. In randomized controlled trials (RCTs), these agents have been shown to do much more than just reduce weight, including significantly reducing cardiovascular events, lowering all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes, and even slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease.

Who Should Palliative Care See? Diane Meier, Bob Arnold, and Justin Sanders

5.9K views · 2mo ago · 52:06

As Diane Meier remarks to start today’s podcast, palliative care has come a long way from the days when we were the “brink of death” consult. We’re seeing patients earlier and earlier in the course of illness. In fact, the evidence base for specialist palliative care is arguably stronger in the outpatient setting than the inpatient setting.

LATE vs Alzheimer’s: Biomarkers, Mixed Dementia, & Clinical Realities: Nate Chin & Sterling Johnson

1.9K views · 2mo ago · 45:10

Guest: Sterling Johnson

Up until just a couple years ago, an 85-year-old patient presenting with gradual, amnestic memory loss was almost automatically presumed to have Alzheimer’s disease. However, new biomakers and the recognition of conditions like Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE) are reshaping our understanding of cognitive decline in older adults.

Video-Enhanced Advance Care Planning: Joshua Lakin and Kei Ouchi

4.2K views · 3mo ago · 46:57

Guest: Video-Enhanced Advance Care Planning

Can simple, evidence-based video decision aids—paired with structured clinician training—improve Advance Care Planning (ACP) documentation and goal-concordant care? That’s the question we pose in this week's podcast with Dr. Joshua Lakin and Dr. Kei Ouchi. We break down the methodologies behind two major clinical trials in which they were involved that implemented this video-enhanced approach.

Longevity Treatments - Snake Oil or Breakthrough? John Newman & Mahtab Jafari

8.4K views · 3mo ago · 50:59

Guests: Longevity Treatments, Mahtab Jafari

To be sure, we should always start by recommending exercise, nutritious foods, good sleep habits, and meaningful social interaction. We wanted to go beyond that to talk about the promise and potential and risks/harms of “biohacks.”

Who Should Deliver Palliative Care in Liver Disease? Chris Woodrell, Manisha Verma, Marie Bakitas

1.2K views · 4mo ago · 49:16

Who's better at delivering palliative care to patients with liver disease: palliative care specialists, or hepatologists who have received liver disease-specific palliative care training? That’s the question we take a deep dive into on this week's podcast by breaking down the PAL-LIVER trial, published this year in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Why you should care about the shakeup at NIH: Sean Morrison, Ken Covinsky, Stacy Fischer

331 views · 4mo ago · 47:25

Emergency Podcast! Our guests Sean Morrison, Ken Covinsky, and Stacy Fischer believe that you should care deeply about the proposed shakeup at the National Institutes of Health. Major proposed rules changes at the Office of Management and Budget, would affect a huge range of government grants, from Headstart to Transportation to the National Science Foundation, as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the subject of today’s podcast.