Global health challenges in treating an elderly institutionalised patient: an oral medicine perspective

Dalal Alhajji; Rui Amaral Mendes

doi:10.1136/bcr-2017-221539

Global health challenges in treating an elderly institutionalised patient: an oral medicine perspective

BMJ Case Rep. 2017 Nov 4:2017:bcr2017221539. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2017-221539.

Authors

Dalal Alhajji¹, Rui Amaral Mendes^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
² Adjunct Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
³ Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.

Abstract

A 64-year-old institutionalised woman presented to our clinic for the management of black hairy tongue. Despite the predictable outcome in treating this disease, this case presents multiple challenges such as the patients' cognitive impairment, her family dynamics, social factors and the health system as a whole, that makes it difficult to treat.

Keywords: dentistry and oral medicine; global health; long term care; mouth; social determinants.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Dementia*
Dental Health Services / ethics
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Health Services for the Aged / ethics
Humans
Institutionalization*
Middle Aged
Ohio
Tongue, Hairy / diagnosis*
Tongue, Hairy / diagnostic imaging
Tongue, Hairy / drug therapy

Supplementary concepts

Black hairy tongue