Detecting dementia symptoms in internal medicine settings: clinical red flags, frailty and intervention perspectives.

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of dementia in internal medicine hospital settings, highlighting its clinical detection, key red flags and frailty factors, as well as intervention perspectives. Dementia, a multifactorial neurocognitive syndrome represents a major global health challenge due to its rising prevalence, significant socioeconomic burden, and frequent comorbidity with chronic diseases. The paper underscores the importance of early identification and management of dementia in hospitalized older adults, emphasizing the heterogeneity of presentations including delirium, acute cognitive deterioration, and previously undiagnosed cases. It outlines biological, psychological, and social factors influencing dementia progression and frailty, advocating for holistic, biopsychosocial approaches. Clinical red flags and diagnostic pathways tailored for non-specialist hospital settings are discussed, alongside the role of biomarkers and neuroimaging in differential diagnosis. The paper details common neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia and the challenges they pose for patient care. It stresses the need for dementia-friendly hospital models through environmental adaptation, staff training, and caregiver integration. Interventions addressing both formal healthcare workers and informal caregivers are reviewed too. Pharmacological treatments are considered with caution due to mixed efficacy and safety concerns, highlighting the growing role of novel anti-amyloid therapies under evaluation. Non-pharmacological cognitive and motor rehabilitation interventions are recognized as promising yet underutilized strategies. The paper advocates for integrated, person-centered dementia care models spanning hospital and community to improve outcomes and optimize resource use. The overarching message promotes early detection, multidimensional management, and systemic healthcare planning to meet the complex needs of this vulnerable population.