High Short-term Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With Advanced Dementia

Abstract
ALZHEIMER DISEASE and related dementing illnesses are incurable, progressive disorders leading gradually to complete loss of cognitive function and subsequent death. By the year 2040, the prevalence of Alzheimer disease in the United States is estimated to rise to more than 9 million affected individuals.1,2 Costs of care increase with severity of the dementing illness with an annual US estimate of more than $100 billion in 1993 alone, a figure that is expected to double by 2040.2