Relevance of readmission of elderly patients discharged from a geriatric unit.
Eight percent of the elderly patients discharged from a geriatric unit in one year were readmitted within three months. Forty-six percent had been living alone and nearly all of these had received full community support at the time of discharge. Recurrent problems were the reason for readmission in 59% of cases, mainly due to falls, incontinence, and confusion. Only 54% of the readmitted patients were discharged home again--those with new additional problems tended to die in hospital, whereas those with recurrent problems often required institutional long-term care. It is concluded that even with careful discharge planning, a proportion of patients will require readmission, some of which will also require long-term institutional care. This number is quite small in terms of the total number of patients discharged from a geriatric unit and should not be a reason for seeking nursing home care at an early stage.
D000059:Accidents; D000368:Aged; D003221:Confusion; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010359:Patient Readmission; D012008:Recurrence; D013997:Time Factors; D014549:Urinary Incontinence