Neðst á síðunni er að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenBACKGROUND: A municipal nursing home with 68 beds in Reykjavík, opened in mid-year 1982. OBJECTIVES: To analyse changes in demographic, health and outcome variables over 20 years. DESIGN: Retrospective analyses of data from medical records of all diseased persons with cross-sectional comparison of five four-year intervals. SETTING: Droplaugarstadir Nursing Home in Reykjavík. The nursing home is supervised by fully qualified nurses and provides maintenance rehabilitation. Medical services are delivered from a specialist geriatric hospital department. RESIDENTS: All residents who died 1983 to 2002 [corrected]. MEASUREMENTS: Demographic data, type of dwelling before admission, Nursing Home Pre-admission Assessment Score (NAPA), mobility- and cognitive score, drug usage and a list of medical diagnoses. All recorded health events during stay, falls and fractures, medical and specialist consultations. Advance directives, as recorded and end-of-life treatment, place of death, clinical diagnosis of cause of death and length of stay. RESULTS: The total number of medical records read numbered 385, including 279 females and 106 males. The mean age on admission was 85 (+/- 7) years. During the first 4 years the majority of residents came from their own private homes or residential settings but in the last four years, 60% were admitted directly from a hospital ward. The mortality rate was 17% per year in the first period and the majority died in a hospital. This ratio took a sharp turn as the mortality rate increased to 40%, and in the last period only 2 of 97 deaths took place in a hospital. Admission mobility- and cognitive scores showed increased disability with time. The most common diagnosis on admission was dementia (56%), ischemic heart disease (46%), fractures (35%) and strokes (27%). Parkinsonism and maturity onset diabetes had a low prevalence rate of 6%. A mean NHPA of 57 (+/- 17) points confirmed a high dependency selection. The mean number of drugs per patient was 5.3 (+/- 3), including 1.1 (+/- 1) for psychoactive drugs and sedatives. The most common health events during residents? stay were urinary and respiratory infections, heart failure, cardiac- and cerebral events and pulmonary disorders. Hip fractures occurred in 45 residents (12%) and other types of fractures in 47 during their stay in the nursing home. The number of medical visits and specialist referrals increased with time. Palliative care was the most common form of treatment at end of life. Pneumonia was most commonly recorded cause of death in medical notes. The yearly mortality rate was 29% and the mean length of stay was 3 (+/- 2,9) years for the whole period. LIMITATIONS: Retrospective analyses have many inherent drawbacks and the information in medical records tend to be scanty. Analyses of disabilities, as described in the medical record, can only be descriptive and health events are likely to be underreported. Statistical methods have a less meaningful role for interpretation as only diseased persons were included and survivors excluded. However, the length of time, uniform medical care and turnover rate of residents generate useful information on the patterns of the nursing home service during a time of considerable change. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective analysis indicates increasing frailty in nursing home patients admitted over a period of 20 years. With time the residents are more often admitted directly from a hospital rather than from an individual dwelling. Most deaths took place in the nursing home and were preceded with informal or formal palliative care directives, which was a significant change over time. The data indicates growing efficiency in the nursing home selection processes due to the NHPA and improvements in holistic geriatric care. This development is in keeping with the Icelandic health care policy for elderly people to stay longer in their own home with access to a nursing home placement when needed.Tilgangur: Á síðustu árum hafa verið gerðar miklar skipulagsbreytingar á öldrunarþjónustu á Íslandi. Þessi afturvirka rannsókn beinist að því að meta áhrif þessara breytinga á lýðfræði og heilsufarsbreytur heimilismanna á Droplaugarstöðum, hjúkrunarheimili fyrir aldraða í Reykjavík. Efniviður og aðferðir: Lesnar voru sjúkraskrár allra vistmanna sem látist höfðu á árunum 1983-2002. Þessum 20 árum var skipt niður í fimm fjögurra ára tímabil. Skráð var aldur, kyn, hvaðan fólkið kom og stig á vistunarmati aldraðra. Metin var hreyfifærni og vitræn geta með fjögurra stiga kvarða, lyfjanotkun og sjúkdómsgreiningar við komu. Skráðar voru algengustu heilsufarsbreytur á dvalartíma, byltur og brot, vitjanir lækna og samráðskvaðningar. Stigun meðferðar, dánarstaður og dánarmein, meðalaldur og meðaldvalartími voru skráð. Niðurstöður: Rannsóknin náði til 385 heimilismanna, 279 kvenna og 106 karla. Meðalaldur við komu var 85 (± 7) ár fyrir bæði kynin og breyttist ekki marktækt á þessum 20 árum. Fyrstu fjögur árin komu flestir heimilismanna úr heimahúsum eða úr þjónustuíbúðum fyrir aldraða en á síðasta tímabilinu komu um 60% beint frá sjúkrahúsum. Hreyfihömlun og heilabilun voru talin algengustu vandamál heimilismanna við komu og algengi þeirra fór vaxandi með árunum. Algengustu sjúkdómsgreiningar við komu voru heilabilun (56%), kransæðasjúkdómar (46%), beinbrot (35%) og heilaáföll (27%). Parkinsonsjúkdómur og fullorðinssykursýki komu mun sjaldnar fyrir, eða í um 6% tilfella. Meðalfjöldi stiga á vistunarmati aldraðra (eftir 1991) var 57 stig (± 17), fjöldi lyfja á mann við komu voru 5,3 (± 3) og inntaka geð- og róandi lyfja 1,1 (±1). Algengustu heilsufarsáföll á dvalartíma voru sýkingar í þvagfærum og lungum, kviðverkir, hjartabilun, hjarta- og heilaáföll og lungnateppa. Mjaðmarbrot voru 45 (12%) og önnur beinbrot 47. Skráðar vitjanir lækna fóru vaxandi með árunum. Dánartíðni fór vaxandi fyrstu árin en var að meðaltali 29% á ári yfir allt tímabilið. Líknarmeðferð var algengasta meðferðarstig heimilismanna undir lokin. Fyrstu fjögur árin áttu 64% andláta heimilismanna sér stað á sjúkrahúsi en aðeins 2% síðustu árin. Algengasta skráða dánarmeinið var lungnabólga. Meðaldvalartími mældist lengstur á árunum 1991-94 en styttist og var 2,6 ár á síðasta tímabilinu. Ályktun: Þessi afturvirka rannsókn sýnir vaxandi hrumleika aldraðs fólks sem vistaðist á Droplaugarstöðum hjúkrunarheimili undanfarin 20 ár. Með árunum komu heimilismenn oftar beint frá legudeild á sjúkrahúsi. Á tímabilinu breyttist dánarstaður heimilismanna frá sjúkrahúsi yfir til heimilisins sjálfs í takt við breytt viðhorf til dánarferlis og samfara umræðu um útgefnar leiðbeiningar um lífslokameðferð. Niðurstöður benda til aukinnar skilvirkni í vistunarmati og heildrænni umönnunar á hjúkrunarheimilinu. Þessi þróun samræmist þeirri hugmyndafræði heilbrigðisyfirvalda að aldraðir búi sem lengst á eigin heimilum en hafi aðgang að hjúkrunarrýmum þegar allt um þrýtur heima
