Postoperative pain management in elderly patients: correlation between adherence to treatment guidelines and patient satisfaction.

Objectives: To evaluate pain management satisfaction in elderly postoperative patients; to define pain management strategies documented in the medical record (MR) that predict patient satisfaction.

Design: Prospective cohort.

Setting: Eight urban hospitals.

Age, but not sex, influences the measurement of ejection fraction in elderly patients hospitalized for heart failure.

Background: Current US and European guidelines recommend that ejection fraction (EF) be measured at least once in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). However, it is not known how age and sex influence adherence to this recommendation.

Methods: We reviewed a national sample of Medicare patients discharged with a principal diagnosis of heart failure and sought to determine the frequency of measurement of EF and the frequency of preserved systolic function (EF > 40%) by age and sex.