Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of general ward care patients and specialist Parkinson's unit patients.
| Baseline characteristics | General ward care (n = 20) | Specialist Parkinson's unit care (n = 24) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age – years (median – IQR) | 81 (75–84) | 81 (73–84) | 0.611 | |
| Gender | Male | 16 (80%) | 16 (67%) | |
| Female | 4 (20%) | 8 (33%) | 0.498 | |
| Modified Hoehn Yahr stage | 0–2.5 | 0 (0%) | 1 (4%) | |
| 3 | 14 (70%) | 9 (38%) | ||
| 4 | 3 (15%) | 8 (33%) | ||
| 5 | 3 (15%) | 6 (25%) | 0.160 | |
| Charlson co-morbidity index (median IQR) | 1 (0.25–2.75) | 1 (0.25–1.75) | 0.535 | |
| Disease stage | Diagnostic | 0 | 0 | |
| Maintenance | 4 (20%) | 1 (4%) | ||
| Complex | 15 (75%) | 21 (88%) | ||
| Palliative | 1 (5%) | 2 (8%) | 0.259 | |
| Usual place of residence | Home alone | 6 (30%) | 5 (21%) | |
| Home not alone | 13 (65%) | 13 (54%) | ||
| Residential care | 1 (5%) | 3 (12%) | ||
| Nursing home | 0 (0%) | 3 (13%) | 0.405 | |
| Diagnosis | Lower respiratory tract infection/pneumonia | 5 (25%) | 7 (29%) | |
| Urinary tract infection | 6 (30%) | 7 (29%) | ||
| Other infection | 2 (10%) | 3 (13%) | ||
| Post hypotension | 2 (10%) | 2 (8%) | ||
| PD related/drug effect | 2 (10%) | 4 (17%) | ||
| Other | 3 (15%) | 1 (4%) | 0.859 | |
| Treatment | Patients on l-dopa | 20 (100%) | 24 (100%) | n/a |
| Patients on dopamine agonist | 7 (35%) | 8 (33%) | 1.00 | |
| l-dopa daily dose (mg) – Median (IQR) | 450 (363–638) | 500 (450–600) | 0.223 | |
| Median number of l-dopa doses per day | 4 (3–5) | 4.5 (3–5) | 0.878 | |
| Patients using apomorphine infusion therapy | 0 | 1 (4%) | 1.00 | |
| Patients using deep brain stimulation | 2 (10%) | 1 (4%) | 0.583 | |
Results presented as frequency (%), or as otherwise stated.