Specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial

Objective To evaluate the effect of specialist geriatric medical management on the outcomes of at risk older people discharged from acute medical assessment units. Design Individual patient randomised controlled trial comparing intervention with usual care. Setting Two hospitals in Nottingham...

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Main Authors: Edmans, Julie, Bradshaw, Lucy, Franklin, Matthew, Gladman, John R.F., Conroy, Simon
Format: Article
Published: British Medical Association 2013
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2398/
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author Edmans, Julie
Bradshaw, Lucy
Franklin, Matthew
Gladman, John R.F.
Conroy, Simon
author_facet Edmans, Julie
Bradshaw, Lucy
Franklin, Matthew
Gladman, John R.F.
Conroy, Simon
author_sort Edmans, Julie
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Objective To evaluate the effect of specialist geriatric medical management on the outcomes of at risk older people discharged from acute medical assessment units. Design Individual patient randomised controlled trial comparing intervention with usual care. Setting Two hospitals in Nottingham and Leicester, UK. Participants 433 patients aged 70 or over who were discharged within 72 hours of attending an acute medical assessment unit and at risk of decline as indicated by a score of at least 2 on the Identification of Seniors At Risk tool. Intervention Assessment made on the acute medical assessment unit and further outpatient management by specialist physicians in geriatric medicine, including advice and support to primary care services. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was the number of days spent at home (for those admitted from home) or days spent in the same care home (if admitted from a care home) in the 90 days after randomisation. Secondary outcomes were determined at 90 days and included mortality, institutionalisation, dependency, mental wellbeing, quality of life, and health and social care resource use. Results The two groups were well matched for baseline characteristics, and withdrawal rates were similar in both groups (5%). Mean days at home over 90 days’ follow-up were 80.2 days in the control group and 79.7 in the intervention group. The 95% confidence interval for the difference in means was −4.6 to 3.6 days (P=0.31). No significant differences were found for any of the secondary outcomes. Conclusions This specialist geriatric medical intervention applied to an at risk population of older people attending and being discharged from acute medical units had no effect on patients’ outcomes or subsequent use of secondary care or long term care.
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spelling nottingham-23982020-05-04T16:39:27Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2398/ Specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial Edmans, Julie Bradshaw, Lucy Franklin, Matthew Gladman, John R.F. Conroy, Simon Objective To evaluate the effect of specialist geriatric medical management on the outcomes of at risk older people discharged from acute medical assessment units. Design Individual patient randomised controlled trial comparing intervention with usual care. Setting Two hospitals in Nottingham and Leicester, UK. Participants 433 patients aged 70 or over who were discharged within 72 hours of attending an acute medical assessment unit and at risk of decline as indicated by a score of at least 2 on the Identification of Seniors At Risk tool. Intervention Assessment made on the acute medical assessment unit and further outpatient management by specialist physicians in geriatric medicine, including advice and support to primary care services. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was the number of days spent at home (for those admitted from home) or days spent in the same care home (if admitted from a care home) in the 90 days after randomisation. Secondary outcomes were determined at 90 days and included mortality, institutionalisation, dependency, mental wellbeing, quality of life, and health and social care resource use. Results The two groups were well matched for baseline characteristics, and withdrawal rates were similar in both groups (5%). Mean days at home over 90 days’ follow-up were 80.2 days in the control group and 79.7 in the intervention group. The 95% confidence interval for the difference in means was −4.6 to 3.6 days (P=0.31). No significant differences were found for any of the secondary outcomes. Conclusions This specialist geriatric medical intervention applied to an at risk population of older people attending and being discharged from acute medical units had no effect on patients’ outcomes or subsequent use of secondary care or long term care. British Medical Association 2013-10-08 Article PeerReviewed Edmans, Julie, Bradshaw, Lucy, Franklin, Matthew, Gladman, John R.F. and Conroy, Simon (2013) Specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 347 (7932). 9/1-9/9. ISSN 0959-8138 http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5874 doi:10.1136/bmj.f5874 doi:10.1136/bmj.f5874
spellingShingle Edmans, Julie
Bradshaw, Lucy
Franklin, Matthew
Gladman, John R.F.
Conroy, Simon
Specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial
title Specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial
title_full Specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial
title_fullStr Specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial
title_full_unstemmed Specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial
title_short Specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial
title_sort specialist geriatric medical assessment for patients discharged from hospital acute assessment units: randomised controlled trial
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2398/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2398/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2398/