title: Medical outcome of patients with dementia in a free-standing psychiatric hospital.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The hospital outcome of patients with dementia is significantly worse than that of cognitively intact persons of the same age admitted to medical or surgical units but has not been investigated in psychiatric settings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the medical outcome of patients with dementia admitted for behavioral disturbance to a free-standing psychiatric hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Emergency transfers from the psychiatric setting to a general hospital were used as proxies for medical deteriorations occurring among the 71 patients with dementia (age 78.4 ± 10.4 years; 40.1% males) and 71 age- and gender-matched nondementia control patients. The patients were identified in a cohort of 1000 patients consecutively admitted to a free-standing mental health institution. Logistic regression was used to determine the clinical and laboratory variables independently associated with medical deteriorations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 30 patients with dementia and 25 nondementia patients were transferred to a general hospital after an acute medical deterioration (42.3% vs 35.2%, P = .38). Febrile illnesses and falls with head trauma were the most common reasons for transfers in the dementia group, in which they constituted more than half of medical deteriorations, a proportion significantly higher than in the control group (P = .011). Admission hemoglobin levels were the only independent predictor of medical deterioration in this geriatric sample.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although nearly 50% of patients with dementia admitted for behavioral disturbance to a free-standing psychiatric institution required transfer to a general hospital, their rate of medical deteriorations was similar to age-matched nondementia control patients.
authors: The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Glen Oaks, NY 11004, USA.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Manu
authors: Eugene
authors: E
authors: Grudnikoff
authors: Sameer
authors: S
authors: Khan
authors: Neil J
authors: NJ
authors: Kremen
authors: Blaine S
authors: BS
authors: Greenwald
authors: John M
authors: JM
authors: Kane
authors: Christoph U
authors: CU
authors: Correll
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D003625:Data Collection; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000150:complications; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D006760:Hospitalization; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010360:Patient Transfer; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins