Table 1.
Demographics and clinical characteristics of the study population at admission.
| Pre -admission | Admission | Discharge | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age (years), ±SD | 69.3 ± 17.5 | |||
| Sex (% female), n/N | 52.2 (107/205) | |||
| Patient origin/destination, % | ||||
| Community, n/N | 66.3 (136/205) | – | 63.2 (115/182) | 0.053 |
| Nursing home, n/N | 30.2 (62/205) | – | 27.5 (50/182) | |
| Intermediate care hospital, n/N | 3.4 (7/205) | – | 9.7 (17/183) | |
| Mean Charlson Score, ±SD | 3.74 ± 2.624 | |||
| Mean Barthel Index, ±SD | 90.4 ± 18.7 | 81.3 ± 30.3∗ | 80.7 ± 29.1∗ | <0.0001 |
| Slight dependence–independent (91–100), n/N | 56.6 (112/198) | 51.1 (92/180) | 56.2 (86/153) | 0.0438 |
| Moderate dependence (61–90), n/N | 23.7 (47/198) | 15.0 (27/180) | 17.6 (27/153) | |
| Severe dependence (21–60), n/N | 15.2 (30/198) | 22.8 (41/180) | 19.0 (29/153) | |
| Total dependence (0–20), n/N | 4.5 (9/198) | 11.1 (20/180) | 7.2 (11/153) | |
| Clinical symptoms, % | ||||
| Fever, n/N | 70.1 (143/204) | 32.2 (66/204) | – | <0.0001 |
| Cough, n/N | 52.9 (108/204) | 37.6 (77/204) | – | 0.003 |
| Dyspnea, n/N | 42.2 (86/204) | 31.7 (65/204) | – | 0.040 |
| Diarrhea, n/N | 23.0 (47/204) | 35.6 (73/204) | – | 0.007 |
| Ageusia, n/N | 7.4 (15/204) | 4.4 (9/204) | – | 0.293 |
| Anosmia, n/N | 6.4 (13/204) | 3.4 (7/204) | – | 0.251 |
| Vomiting, n/N | 6.4 (13/204) | 16.6 (34/204) | – | 0.251 |
∗p < 0.0001 vs. pre-admission.