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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Increased medical attention needed for frail elderly initially admitted to the emergency department for lack of community support | | Author(s) | S Elmståhl, C Wahlfrid |
| Journal title | Aging: Clinical and Experimental Research, vol 11, no 1, February 1999 |
| Pages | pp 56-60 |
| Keywords | Medical care ; Living in the community ; Accident & emergency depts ; Admission [hospitals] ; Hospital services ; Discharge ; Sweden. |
| Annotation | Early discharge from hospital may augment emergency readmissions due to relapse in medical condition. The authors' aim was to study precipitating factors in frail older patients who had the diagnosis "lack of community support" after initial examination at an acute emergency department (AMU), as well as discharge rates and 1-year mortality. 380 cases of 18,015 patients, aged 65 and over, attending an AMU in Malmö, Sweden were studied. Reduced ability to eat, drink and walk prior to admission were noted in 22%-58% of cases. Two-thirds of patients needed further medical care as in-patients, and physical medical causes were identified in 85% of cases (mean number 3 causes): infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases, dementia and trauma were the most prevalent factors. The median hospital stay was 14 days, and 10% had been discharged from the hospital the week prior to admission. One-year mortality was 34%. The deceased had more precipitating physical causes, and were more often admitted to medical wards, but fewer had been referred to a senior consultant at time of admission than survivors. The need for better medical attention seems important, especially for patients discharged directly home from an emergency department. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990715208 A |
| Classmark | LK: K4: LD6: LD:QKH: LD: QKJ: 76P * |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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