Covid-19 cases in a no-Covid-19 geriatric acute care setting. A sporadic occurrence?

• Covid-19 cases are frequent in elderly patients admitted to acute no-Covid-19 units. • Healthcare personnel is at high risk to present coronavirus infection. • Hospital transmission of Covid-19 can be frequent in older individuals.

The Severity of Acute Illness and Functional Trajectories in Hospitalized Older Medical Patients.

Background: Acute diseases and hospitalization are associated with functional deterioration in older persons. Although most of the functional decline occurs before hospitalization in response to the acute diseases, the role played by comorbidity in the functional trajectories around hospitalization is unclear.

Methods: Observational prospective study of 696 elderly individuals hospitalized in two Italian general medicine wards.

Acute functional decline before hospitalization in older patients.

Aims: Acute diseases and related hospitalization are crucial events in the disabling process of elderly individuals. Most of the functional decline occurs in the few days before hospitalization, as a result of acute diseases in vulnerable patients. The aim of the present study was to identify determinants of prehospital components of functional decline.

Functional recovery of elderly patients hospitalized in geriatric and general medicine units. The PROgetto DImissioni in GEriatria Study.

Objectives: To investigate the characteristics of patients who regain function during hospitalization and the differences in terms of functional outcomes between patients admitted to geriatric and general medicine units.

Design: Multicenter, prospective cohort study.

Setting: Acute care geriatric and medical wards of five Italian hospitals.

Transdermal buprenorphine for the treatment of chronic noncancer pain in the oldest old.

Context: Chronic pain increases with age, and in the elderly, comorbidities and polypharmacotherapy make the choice of treatment for pharmacological pain control a complex matter.

Objectives: We conducted a multicenter, prospective, observational study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the buprenorphine transdermal delivery system (TDS) in elderly patients with chronic noncancer pain. The aim was to assess the cognitive and behavioral status of patients during treatment.