- 作者：Jes煤s D铆ez-Manglano ; Bego帽a de Escalante Yang眉ela ; Ernesto Garc铆a-Arilla Calvo ; Elena Ubis D铆ez ; Eulalia Munilla L贸pez ; Mercedes Clerencia Sierra ; Paz Revillo Pinilla ; Teresa Omiste Sanvicente
- 关键词：Polypathological patient ; Multimorbidity ; Dependence ; Cognitive impairment ; Geriatrics ; Internal medicine
- 刊名：European Journal of Internal Medicine
- 出版年：December, 2013
- 年：2013
- 卷：24
- 期：8
- 页码：767-771
- 全文大小：356 K
Aim
To determine whether there are any differences between polypathological patients attended in Internal Medicine departments and acute Geriatric units.Methods
A cross-sectional multicenter study was performed. Polypathological patients admitted to an internal medicine or geriatrics department and attended by investigators consecutively between March 1 and June 30, 2011 were included. Data of age, sex, living in a nursing residence or at home, diagnostic category, use of chronic medication, Charlson, Barthel and Lawton-Brody indexes, Pfeiffer questionnaire, delirium during last admission, need of a caregiver, and having a caregiver were gathered. The need of a caregiver was defined when the Barthel index was < 60 or Pfeiffer questionnaire 鈮?#xA0;3 errors.
Results
471 polypathological patients, 337 from internal medicine and 144 from geriatrics units were included. Geriatrics inpatients were older and more frequently female. Cardiac (62.1% vs 49.6%; p = .01), digestive (8.3% vs 3.0%; p = .04) and oncohematological diseases (30.2% vs 18.8%; p = .01) were more frequent in patients of internal medicine units and neurological (66.2% vs 40.2%; p < .001) and locomotive ones (39.1% vs 20.4%; p < .001) in geriatrics inpatients. Charlson index was higher for internal medicine inpatients [4.0(2.1) vs 3.5(2.1); p = .04). Patients attended in geriatrics scored higher in Pfeiffer questionnaire [5.5(3.7) vs 3.8(3.3); p < .001], and lower in Barthel [38.8(32.5) vs 61.2(34.3); p = .001] and Lawton-Brody indexes [0.9(1.6) vs 3.0(2.9); p < .001], and more frequently needed a caregiver (87.8% vs 53.6%; p < .001) and had it.
Conclusions
There are differences in disease profile and functional and cognitive situation between polypathological patients of internal medicine and geriatrics departments.