Cardiac and inflammatory biomarkers and in-hospital mortality in older medical patients.

Objectives: Increasing evidence has mounted in recent years on the potential prognostic role of biomarkers out of cardiac-specific medical settings. We aimed to test whether cardiac and inflammatory biomarkers are independently associated with in-hospital mortality in older unselected medical inpatients undergoing standardized multidimensional evaluation.

Design: Observational study conducted in a metropolitan university-teaching hospital.

Functional decline two weeks before hospitalization in an elderly population.

Introduction: The use of hospital care increases significantly with age. Older people coming to the emergency department have three to seven times higher rates of hospitalization than younger people. Hospitalization can lead to loss of independence and also need for long-term care at discharge.

The experience of a geriatric hospital at home service for acutely ill elderly patients with pressure ulcers: an observational study .

Unlabelled:  Background. Pressure ulcers are an often underestimated problem affecting elderly patients.

Methods: An observational study was undertaken to evaluate patients admitted from January 2000 to December 2001 to a geriatric hospital affiliated at home service.

Insomnia among hospitalized elderly patients: prevalence, clinical characteristics and risk factors.

Insomnia can determine an increase in falls and accidents, hospitalization and nursing home placement. The aims of our study are to evaluate prevalence, clinical characteristics and predictors of sleep disorders in elderly inpatients admitted to a Geriatric Acute Care Ward. This longitudinal observational study consecutively recruited patients aged 65 and older admitted to a Geriatric Acute Care Unit between January the 1st 2007 and June 31st 2007.

Home management of hematological patients requiring hospital admission.

The hospital-at-home service (HHS) could be considered as an alternative to the traditional ward for elderly patients. We aimed at evaluating the home management of elderly people requiring transfusions. The ever-increasing demand on acute hospital services requires alternative methods of delivering all aspects of health care.

Efficacy of oxycodone/acetaminophen and codeine/acetaminophen vs. conventional therapy in elderly women with persistent, moderate to severe osteoarthritis-related pain.

We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxycodone/acetaminophen (O/A) and codeine/acetaminophen (C/A) vs. conventional therapy (CT) without opioids in older women suffering from osteoarthritis (OA)-related pain, sub-optimally responsive to prior conventional treatments. We performed a 6 week, randomized, single blind, controlled study in three nursing homes.