Clinical impression for identification of vulnerable older patients in the emergency department.

Objectives: To investigate whether the clinical impression of vulnerability and the Dutch Safety Management Program (VMS), a screening instrument on four geriatric domains (activities in daily living, falls, malnutrition, delirium) are useful predictors of 1-year mortality in older patients in the emergency department.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study in the emergency department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Patients aged 65 years and older visiting the emergency department, and their attending physicians and nurses were included.