post polio syndrome

SouthernLPN2RN, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · Feb 18, 2007

Has anyone heard of post polio syndrome? It would most likely occur with someone in their sixties. There is not alot of research and it is possible that someone with PPS would not be diagnosed with it. As a new LPN I suspect I may see some cases of it in a nursing home. Anyone? Any thouights

I have a great-aunt that has this and has been dx'ed with it since her 40's. I'm not real close to her so I don't know all the s/s of the disease, but Google should give you some more info. I don't think I've ever encountered it clinically.

Cattitude · Feb 19, 2007

has anyone heard of post polio syndrome? it would most likely occur with someone in their sixties. there is not alot of research and it is possible that someone with pps would not be diagnosed with it. as a new lpn i suspect i may see some cases of it in a nursing home. anyone? any thouights

i have a pt. that i suspect has it. she fits a lot of the sx's. unfortunately, no dr. will dx. with it. i don't think a lot of md's are comfortable with this dx. so instead she gets passed around to a lot of different specialists, non of whom can come up with anything and they just pump her full of meds. pffft. . it's very frustrating.

caliotter3 · Feb 19, 2007

Had one pt with this dx. Vent dependent. Close to 50 y/o. Dx for almost 30 yrs. Very stable. Not much to say, except I can't remember the particulars about the article discussing dx which was in his chart. Found the article to be interesting.

tatgirl · Feb 19, 2007

My grandmother has this as well. She had polio as a child. She is now in her 70's and was recently dx a few years ago.

Wendy

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Feb 19, 2007

I had a patient with this. She had a lot of weakness in her limbs and would take a pain pill at night for her discomfort, but limited herself to maybe one or two non-narcotic NSAIDs per night.

As the day wore on and she became weaker, she would need more assistance. She would rest frequently and choose her caregivers carefully so as to minimize stress and conserve her strength. She wanted to be as independent as possible. She couldn't write or use the keyboard, so she had a voice recognition program in order to communicate with the outside world.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Feb 19, 2007

PS Wikipedia has a lot of info and a few links on PPS too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-polio_syndrome

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Feb 19, 2007

In rehab, we saw this a lot, especially about 10 years ago.

Our resident neurologist told us that it was because the person with polio has fewer nerve cells and as they experience the aging process, they are more affected than those who never had polio. They have more to lose and less to begin with, so to speak. I understand that it isn't a 'revival' of the disease but rather a pre-disposition to disability from aging.