Biopsychosocial factors related to the length of hospital stay in older people

This study aimed to know what variables influence increased length of hospital stay. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted through an integrated geriatric assessment of 81 people over 65 years of age, admitted to a tertiary acute care hospital. Data were collected through the Pfeiffer Scale, Barthel Index, Goldberg Questionnaire, Family APGAR and Gijón Scale. The length of hospital stay increased in people over 80 years, people living alone or in a retirement home, patients with great physical dependence and those with a risk or problem of social exclusion. The most influential variable for longer hospitalization was cognitive impairment (pEste estudio tuvo como objetivo conocer qué variables influyen en el aumento de la duración de la estancia hospitalaria. Se trata de un estudio descriptivo transversal en el que se realizó una Valoración Geriátrica Integral a 81 personas mayores de 65 años de edad que ingresaron en un hospital de agudos de tercer nivel. Para ello, los datos fueron recogidos por medio de la Escala de Pfeiffer, el Índice de Barthel, el Cuestionario de Goldberg, el APGAR familiar y la Escala de Gijón. Se observó un aumento de la duración de la estancia hospitalaria entre los mayores de 80 años, las personas que vivían solas o en una residencia geriátrica, los pacientes que presentaban gran dependencia física y también, entre quienes tenían un riesgo o problema de exclusión social. La variable que más influyó en la mayor duración de la hospitalización fue el deterioro cognitivo (pEste estudo teve como objetivo conhecer quais as variáveis que influenciam o aumento do tempo de internação hospitalar. Trata-se de estudo descritivo e transversal, conduzido mediante ampla avaliação geriátrica de 81 pessoas com mais de 65 anos, internadas em hospital terciário de cuidados agudos. Os dados foram coletados através da Escala Pfeiffer, Índice de Barthel, Questionário de Goldberg, Apgar da Família e Escala de Gijón. Observou-se aumento no tempo de internação entre pessoas com mais de 80 anos, pessoas que vivem sozinhas ou em lar de idosos, pacientes que tinham grande dependência física, e entre aqueles com algum risco ou problema de exclusão social. A variável mais influente, para a maior duração da hospitalização, foi a deterioração cognitiva (p<0,05), em comparaç��o à maior colaboração do paciente sem essa condição ou ao seu desejo de superar a fase aguda da patologia que levou à internação hospitalar

Evaluación funcional en ancianos intervenidos de fractura de cadera

Estudio observacional prospectivo en pacientes mayores de 65 años intervenidos de fractura de cadera. El objetivo fue conocer la evolución funcional de los pacientes a los tres meses del alta hospitalaria, identificar variables relacionadas con dicha recuperación funcional, describir la mortalidad e institucionalización asociadas al proceso. Se analizaron variables demográficas como edad, sexo, convivencia. Otros aspectos registrados fueron: comorbilidad, deterioro cognitivo, capacidad para caminar, nivel de dependencia según índice de Barthel, institucionalización y mortalidad. Se recogió la información al ingreso y a los 3 meses del alta. El 89,6% de la muestra, fueron mujeres, la edad media fue de 83,56 años. El 40% de los pacientes recuperaron la independencia previa registrándose una mortalidad del 16,7% así como una leve progresión hacia la institucionalización. La capacidad funcional y el deterioro cognitivo del paciente, previos a la fractura condicionan su recuperación funcional y dependencias posteriores

Rehabilitation Profiles of Older Adult Stroke Survivors Admitted to Intermediate Care Units: A Multi-Centre Study.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a major cause of disability in older adults, but the evidence around post-acute treatment is limited and heterogeneous. We aimed to identify profiles of older adult stroke survivors admitted to intermediate care geriatric rehabilitation units. METHODS: We performed a cohort study, enrolling stroke survivors aged 65 years or older, admitted to 9 intermediate care units in Catalonia-Spain. To identify potential profiles, we included age, caregiver presence, comorbidity, pre-stroke and post-stroke disability, cognitive impairment and stroke severity in a cluster analysis. We also proposed a practical decision tree for patient's classification in clinical practice. We analyzed differences between profiles in functional improvement (Barthel index), relative functional gain (Montebello index), length of hospital stay (LOS), rehabilitation efficiency (functional improvement by LOS), and new institutionalization using multivariable regression models (for continuous and dichotomous outcomes). RESULTS: Among 384 patients (79.1±7.9 years, 50.8% women), we identified 3 complexity profiles: a) Lower Complexity with Caregiver (LCC), b) Moderate Complexity without Caregiver (MCN), and c) Higher Complexity with Caregiver (HCC). The decision tree showed high agreement with cluster analysis (96.6%). Using either linear (continuous outcomes) or logistic regression, both LCC and MCN, compared to HCC, showed statistically significant higher chances of functional improvement (OR = 4.68, 95%CI = 2.54-8.63 and OR = 3.0, 95%CI = 1.52-5.87, respectively, for Barthel index improvement ≥20), relative functional gain (OR = 4.41, 95%CI = 1.81-10.75 and OR = 3.45, 95%CI = 1.31-9.04, respectively, for top Vs lower tertiles), and rehabilitation efficiency (OR = 7.88, 95%CI = 3.65-17.03 and OR = 3.87, 95%CI = 1.69-8.89, respectively, for top Vs lower tertiles). In relation to LOS, MCN cluster had lower chance of shorter LOS than LCC (OR = 0.41, 95%CI = 0.23-0.75) and HCC (OR = 0.37, 95%CI = 0.19-0.73), for LOS lower Vs higher tertiles. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that post-stroke rehabilitation profiles could be identified using routine assessment tools and showed differential recovery. If confirmed, these findings might help to develop tailored interventions to optimize recovery of older stroke patients.This study was partially funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya.—Dr. Quinn is supported by a joint Stroke Association/Chief Scientist Office Senior Clinical Lecturer Fellowship. The mathematical analysis was supported by the projects SGR2014-890 (MACDA) of AGAUR (Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca) and by MINECO (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness) project APCO