Table 1.
Patient and hospitalization characteristics
| MUMC | OMC | CHE | Total | Homogeneity$ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total questionnaires (N) | 447 | 230 | 207 | 884 | ||||||
| Response rate (%) | 72 | 84 | 81 | 77 | ||||||
| Admitted patients (N) | 53 | 34 | 36 | 123 | ||||||
| Total hospitalizations (N) | 61 | 47 | 51 | 159 | ||||||
| Age (yr) | 71 [SD = 10.4] | 75 [SD = 7.6] | 71 [SD = 8.5] | 72 [SD = 9.2] | 0.87 | |||||
| Disease duration (yr) | 9.6 [SD = 7.0] | 9.1 [SD = 7.2] | 10.7 [SD = 6.9] | 9.8 [SD = 7.0] | 0.49 | |||||
| LED-value (mg/day) | 554 | 761 | 855 | 711 | 0.004 | |||||
| N* | %* | N* | %* | N* | %* | N* | %* | |||
| Gender | ||||||||||
| Women | 28 | 46 | 15 | 32 | 14 | 28 | 57 | 36 | 0.04 | |
| Men | 33 | 54 | 32 | 68 | 37 | 72 | 102 | 64 | ||
| Hoehn&Yahr | ||||||||||
| stage < III | 24 | 39 | 20 | 43 | 13 | 25 | 57 | 36 | 0.12 | |
| stage III, IV | 33 | 54 | 25 | 53 | 33 | 65 | 91 | 57 | 0.32 | |
| stage V | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 0.33 | |
| Don't know/missing | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| On-off fluctuations | ||||||||||
| Yes | 27 | 44 | 14 | 30 | 21 | 41 | 62 | 39 | 0.61 | |
| No | 33 | 54 | 33 | 70 | 30 | 59 | 96 | 60 | ||
| Don't know/missing | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Cognitive problems | ||||||||||
| Yes | 20 | 33 | 24 | 51 | 29 | 57 | 72 | 46 | 0.009 | |
| No | 41 | 67 | 23 | 49 | 22 | 43 | 86 | 54 | ||
| Don't know/missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Deterioration during admission | ||||||||||
| Yes | 13 | 21 | 10 | 21 | 11 | 22 | 34 | 21 | 0.84 | |
| No | 45 | 74 | 30 | 64 | 35 | 69 | 110 | 69 | ||
| Don't know/missing | 3 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 9 | ||
| Complications during admission | ||||||||||
| None | 40 | 66 | 30 | 64 | 35 | 69 | 105 | 66 | 0.76 | |
| One or more complications | 21 | 34 | 15 | 32 | 16 | 31 | 52 | 33 | 0.30 | |
| Confusion | 13 | 21 | 11 | 23 | 11 | 22 | 35 | 22 | 0.91 | |
| Urinary tract infection | 4 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 0.70 | |
| Emotional disturbance | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0.004 | |
| Pneumonia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0.17 | |
| Memory complaints | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0.50 | |
| Falls | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.87 | |
| Other | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0.50 | |
| Don't know/missing | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Medication distribution | ||||||||||
| Good | 40 | 66 | 29 | 62 | 39 | 76 | 108 | 68 | 0.15 | |
| Bad | 18 | 30 | 16 | 34 | 8 | 16 | 42 | 26 | ||
| Don't know/missing | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 6 | ||
| Surgery | ||||||||||
| Yes | 39 | 64 | 21 | 45 | 31 | 61 | 91 | 57 | 0.63 | |
| No | 22 | 36 | 26 | 55 | 20 | 39 | 68 | 43 | ||
| Don't know/missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ward | ||||||||||
| Neurologic | 11 | 18 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 28 | 18 | 0.68 | |
| Non-neurologic | 48 | 79 | 41 | 87 | 39 | 76 | 128 | 81 | ||
| Don't know/missing | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Involvement of paramedics | ||||||||||
| Yes | 23 | 38 | 29 | 62 | 8 | 16 | 60 | 38 | 0.025 | |
| No | 34 | 56 | 14 | 30 | 41 | 80 | 89 | 56 | ||
| Don't know/missing | 4 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 6 | ||
| Consultation of PD nurse specialist# | ||||||||||
| Yes | 14 | 23 | 20 | 43 | 5 | 10 | 39 | 25 | 0.14 | |
| No | 45 | 74 | 24 | 51 | 44 | 86 | 113 | 71 | ||
| Don't know/missing | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 | ||
* N; number and percentage of total admissions
# Non-neurological ward
$ For homogeneity between different centres the Pearson Correlation and Spearman's rho tests were used. P-values are shown. P-value < 0.05 is considered significant.
Abbreviations: MUMC, Maastricht University Medical Centre; OMC, Orbis Medical Centre; CHE, Catharina Hospital Eindhoven; N, number; SD, standard deviation; LED-value, Levodopa Equivalent Dose; PD, Parkinson's disease