Presenting symptoms of COVID-19 and clinical outcomes in hospitalised older adults.

Background: In July 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak was recognised in the geriatric wards at a subacute campus of the Royal Melbourne Hospital affecting patients and staff. Patients were also admitted to this site after diagnosis in residential care.

Aims: To describe the early symptoms and the outcomes of COVID-19 in older adults.

Frailty indexes in perioperative and critical care: A systematic review.

Background/objectives: Frail patients are increasingly presenting for both perioperative and intensive care, highlighting the need for simple, valid and scaleable frailty measurement. Frailty indexes comprehensively assess a range of deficits in health, and can incorporate routinely collected data. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the effect of frailty indexes on surgical and intensive care risk stratification and patient outcomes (mortality, complications, length of stay, and discharge location).

Are health assets associated with improved outcomes for hospitalised older adults? A systematic review.

Objective: Health assets are protective factors that support health and wellbeing, rather than risk factors that are associated with disease. This concept was developed in the community setting. In hospitalised older adults, the dominant approach has been to identify risk factors, with little examination of health assets.

The clinical frailty scale predicts functional decline and mortality when used by junior medical staff: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Increasing frailty is associated with risk of mortality and functional decline in hospitalized older adults, but there is no consensus on the best screening method for use by non-geriatricians. The objective of this study is to determine whether the clinical frailty scale (CFS) can be used to identify patient baseline frailty status in the acute general medical setting when used by junior medical staff using information obtained on routine clinical assessment.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study in an acute general medical unit.

The Effects of Advance Care Planning Interventions on Nursing Home Residents: A Systematic Review.

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) encompasses a process by which people may express and record their values and preferences for care and treatment should they lose the capacity to communicate them in the future. We believe the effects that ACP can have on the nursing home population is distinct from others and sought to gain insight into the outcomes of relevant studies on the topic.

Aim: To identify the effects of ACP interventions on nursing home residents.