Table 1.
Description of the study population
| Site 1, n (%) | Site 2, n (%) | Site 3, n (%) | Site 4, n (%) | Site comparison, P value | Total | |
| Age | ||||||
| 65–74 years old | 61 (57) | 21 (32) | 38 (45) | 35 (42) | 0.001 | 155 (46) |
| 75–84 years old | 36 (34) | 23 (35) | 35 (42) | 29 (35) | 123 (36) | |
| ≥85 years old | 9 (9) | 21 (32) | 11 (13) | 19 (23) | 60 (18) | |
| Sex | ||||||
| Female | 53 (50) | 37 (57) | 39 (46) | 44 (53) | 0.618 | 173 (51) |
| CTAS | ||||||
| 1 and 2 | 39 (37) | 25 (38) | 25 (30) | 18 (22) | 0.076 | 107 (31.7) |
| 3 | 47 (44) | 28 (43) | 43 (51) | 37 (45) | 155 (45.9) | |
| 4 and 5 | 20 (19) | 12 (18) | 16 (19) | 28 (34) | 76 (22.5) | |
| Admission diagnostic | ||||||
| Medical | ||||||
| Cardiology | 15 (14.0) | 16 (21.9) | 23 (25.2) | 16 (18.0) | 70 (19.4) | |
| Pneumonology | 22 (20.6) | 15 (20.5) | 26 (28.6) | 12 (13.5) | 75 (20.8) | |
| Gastroenterology | 13 (12.1) | 7 (9.6) | 8 (8.8) | 17 (19.1) | 45 (12.5) | |
| Internal medicine | 6 (5.6) | 8 (11.0) | 7 (7.7) | 8 (9.0) | 29 (8.1) | |
| Neurology | 13 (12.1) | 7 (9.6) | 9 (9.9) | 10 (11.2) | 39 (10.8) | |
| Other | 28 (26.2) | 14 (19.2) | 14 (15.4) | 21 (23.6) | 77 (21.4) | |
| Surgical | ||||||
| Orthopaedics | 2 (1.9) | 6 (8.2) | 4 (4.4) | 5 (5.6) | 17 (4.7) | |
| General surgery | 5 (4.7) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 5 (1.4) | |
| Other | 3 (2.8) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.8) | |
| Time of day of presentation | ||||||
| 0:00–08:00 | 18 (16.5) | 12 (16.2) | 21 (22.1) | 5 (5.6) | 56 (15.3) | |
| 08:00–16:00 | 66 (60.6) | 34 (46.0) | 43 (45.3) | 54 (60.7) | 197 (53.7) | |
| 16:00–0:00 | 25 (22.9) | 28 (37.8) | 31 (32.6) | 30 (33.7) | 114 (31.0) | |
| OARS at baseline (mean±SD) | 26.33±1.98 | 26.41±2.20 | 25.95±2.60 | 24.92±2.41 | <0.001 | 25.91±2.36 |
| TICS-m at baseline (mean±SD)* | 30.36±5.68 | 31.88±4.69 | 29.37±5.92 | 26.81±6.70 | <0.001 | 29.53±6.08 |
| Charlson (mean±SD) | 1.93±1.78 | 1.65±1.69 | 3.13±2.48 | 1.81±1.55 | <0.001 | 2.14±1.99 |
| APACHE II (mean±SD) | 10.99±3.43 | 10.77±3.37 | 9.48±3.43 | 8.70±3.17 | <0.001 | 10.01±3.48 |
| Environmental factors | ||||||
| Proper lighting† | 65 (63) | 49 (75) | 71 (85) | 18 (22) | <0.001 | 203 (61) |
| Patient hydration | ||||||
| Fasting | 10 (10) | 8 (12) | 11 (13) | 16 (19) | 0.369 | 45 (14) |
| Glass of water within reach | 70 (72) | 55 (85) | 52 (65) | 71 (86) | 0.005 | 248 (76) |
| Presence of saliva‡ | 74 (76) | 52 (80) | 49 (60) | 9 (11) | <0.001 | 184 (56) |
| Any intravenous fluids | 75 (77) | 58 (89) | 78 (95) | 65 (78) | 0.003 | 276 (84) |
| Physical restraints (any)§ | 78 (77) | 30 (46) | 1 (1) | 65 (79) | <0.001 | 174 (53) |
| Medical interventions limiting movement | ||||||
| Bed rest | 1 (1) | 1 (2) | 5 (6) | 0 (0,0) | 0.071 | 7 (2) |
| Urinary catheter | 7 (8) | 5 (9) | 2 (2) | 2 (3) | 0.217 | 16 (6) |
| O2 | 15 (17) | 15 (26) | 22 (27) | 4 (6) | 0.007 | 56 (19) |
| Saline lock catheter or intravenous drip | 72 (84) | 53 (91) | 75 (92) | 57 (88) | 0.377 | 257 (88) |
| Other | 10 (12) | 8 (14) | 18 (22) | 6 (9) | 0.125 | 42 (14) |
| Temporal orientation aid¶ | 67 (63) | 45 (69) | 53 (63) | 37 (45) | 0.010 | 202 (60) |
*Adjusted for level of education.
†According to the RA.
‡RA verified if the patients had saliva under their tongue.
§Tablet, bed rails or other.
¶Clock, watch, cell phone, calendar.
APACHE II, Acute Physiological and Chronic Health Evaluation II; CTAS, Canadian Triage Assessment Scale; OARS, Older Americans Resources and Services; RA, research assistant; TICS-m, modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status.