Costa et al evaluated older adults coming to the Emergency Department and identified factors associated with various outcomes. The authors are from multiple institutions in Europe, North America, India and Australia.
Patient selection: >= 75 years of age coming to the Emergency Department
Exclusions: death expected within 24 hours; severe acute medical crisis
Predictors of longer hospital length of stay (with adjusted odds ratios from 1.7 to 2.2):
(1) living alone
(2) distressed informal caregiver(s) (express distress, anger or depression)
(3) impaired mobility on admission (deficits in ambulation)
(4) poor self-rated health
(5) traumatic injury
Predictors of return within 28 days of discharge to the ED or hospital (adjusted odds ratios from 1.7 to 2.1):
(1) recent ED visits (within the past 90 days)
(2) baseline functional impairment
(3) anhedonia (inability to find pleasure in activities previously found to be pleasurable, a sign of depression)
