28th October 2020

A 70-year-old gentleman referred from the nursing home has severe Alzheimer’s dementia

A 70-year-old gentleman referred from the nursing home has severe Alzheimer’s dementia, poorly controlled hypertension and type 1 diabetes. He is non-communicative but presents with a fever and loss of appetite for 3 days. On physical examination, he has a BMI of 17.5 and there appears to be cervical lymphadenopathy on the right. Otoscopy of the right ear found an erythematous external auditory meatus, with obstruction of the external ear canal. Examination of the eyes, nose, mouth and rest of the body was otherwise unremarkable.

Select the SINGLE most appropriate management option for this patient. Select ONE option only.