| Methods |
‐ RCT of a geriatric special care unit compared to a traditional medical or surgical ward.
‐ randomisation: "the hospital admissions office randomly assigned eligible patients."
‐ Setting: USA, acute hospital.
‐ Funding: not stated. |
| Participants |
‐ 424 medical/surgical patients (123 treatment, 301 control).
‐ Mean age 79 years, 65% female, 9% resided in a nursing home prior to admission.
‐ Inclusion criteria: aged at least 65 years, predicted length of stay of greater than 48 hours, under the care of a participating physician.
‐ Exclusion criteria: nil reported
‐ Major diagnostic categories (ordered from most common): Respiratory, cardiac, fractures, cerebrovascular, bowel/intestinal, metastatic malignancies and neurological. |
| Interventions |
‐ Geriatric special care unit. Registered nurses/assistants trained for project. Emphasis on maximising patient independence. Multidisciplinary team meeting twice weekly. Early discharge planning and home visit 3 weeks after discharge.
‐ Exercise: patients wear their own clothes, dine in a communal area and participate in an exercise program. Supervised by nursing staff and family. Role of the physiotherapist and occupational therapist not clearly defined. |
| Outcomes |
‐ Discharge destination, mortality, complications during hospitalisation, length and cost of hospital stay, use of physical or chemical restraints.
‐ Time of outcome measure assessment: hospital discharge. |
| Notes |
‐ Language: English
‐ PEDro score: 5
‐ Additional information from authors: no. Attempted to contact authors regarding inconsistent sample sizes reported in tables but unable to locate, possibly due to paper having been published 20+ years ago.
The authors reported the trial to be continuing but no further publications were identified.
‐ Authors conclusions: " the preliminary outcomes themselves are encouraging; they suggest that high‐quality hospital care can be delivered to the elderly for less money." |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Allocation concealment? |
Unclear risk |
D ‐ Not used |
