title: Admission of elderly medical patients to fast track or standard hospitalisation: protocol for a randomised trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Emergency department-based short stay units (SSUs) are increasingly being introduced to provide accelerated care. The effects of treatment in SSUs for elderly medical patients are not well-studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ELDER trial is a single-blinded, randomised parallel trial with 1:1 allocation between hospitalisation in an SSU (intervention) and the Department of Internal Medicine (standard care). The study is conducted at Holbaek Hospital, Denmark. Elderly patients are screened for inclusion if an emergency physician assesses that treatment in an SSU is possible. Eligible participants are patients aged ≥ 75 years needing in-hospital treatment of an acute medical problem and who are stable upon admission. The primary outcome is 90-day all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes include: length of stay in hospital, incidence of complications during hospitalisation, rate of unplanned readmissions and change in instrumental activities of daily living. We aim at recruiting 430 patients based on an estimated effects size of reducing mortality by 10%. All outcome measures will be assessed in an intention-to-treat analysis. Recruitment started on 5 January 2015. By 16 October 2015, we have enrolled 203 patients. An interim safety analysis is scheduled.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the ELDER trial, we explore benefits and harms related to treatment in an SSU for elderly medical patients compared with standard hospitalisation.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Region Zealand's Forskningsfond, the Tryg Foundation and University of Copenhagen.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02395718.
authors.affiliation: cstr@regionsjaelland.dk.
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Strøm
authors.forename: Lars Simon
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: Søren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wistisen Rasmussen
authors.forename: Kim Hvid
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Benn Madsen
authors.forename: Henrik Ancher
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Ancher Sørensen
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Andersen Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003718:Denmark; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D012107:Research Design; D016037:Single-Blind Method