We have located links that may give you full text access.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
REVIEW
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Older adults in the emergency department: a systematic review of patterns of use, adverse outcomes, and effectiveness of interventions.
Annals of Emergency Medicine 2002 March
STUDY OBJECTIVE: We sought to synthesize the literature on patterns of use of emergency services among older adults, risk factors associated with adverse health outcomes, and effectiveness of intervention strategies targeting this population.
METHODS: Relevant articles were identified by means of an English-language search of MEDLINE, HealthSTAR, CINAHL, Current Contents, and Cochrane Library databases from January 1985 to January 2001. This search was supplemented with literature from reference sections of the retrieved publications. A qualitative approach was used to synthesize the literature.
RESULTS: Compared with younger persons, older adults use emergency services at a higher rate, their visits have a greater level of urgency, they have longer stays in the emergency department, they are more likely to be admitted or to have repeat ED visits, and they experience higher rates of adverse health outcomes after discharge. The risk factors commonly associated with the negative outcomes are age, functional impairment, recent hospitalization or ED use, living alone, and lack of social support. Comprehensive geriatric screening and coordinated discharge planning initiatives designed to improve clinical outcomes in older emergency patients have provided inconclusive results.
CONCLUSION: Older ED patients have distinct patterns of service use and care needs. The current disease-oriented and episodic models of emergency care do not adequately respond to the complex care needs of frail older patients. More research is needed to determine the effectiveness of screening and intervention strategies targeting at-risk older ED patients.
METHODS: Relevant articles were identified by means of an English-language search of MEDLINE, HealthSTAR, CINAHL, Current Contents, and Cochrane Library databases from January 1985 to January 2001. This search was supplemented with literature from reference sections of the retrieved publications. A qualitative approach was used to synthesize the literature.
RESULTS: Compared with younger persons, older adults use emergency services at a higher rate, their visits have a greater level of urgency, they have longer stays in the emergency department, they are more likely to be admitted or to have repeat ED visits, and they experience higher rates of adverse health outcomes after discharge. The risk factors commonly associated with the negative outcomes are age, functional impairment, recent hospitalization or ED use, living alone, and lack of social support. Comprehensive geriatric screening and coordinated discharge planning initiatives designed to improve clinical outcomes in older emergency patients have provided inconclusive results.
CONCLUSION: Older ED patients have distinct patterns of service use and care needs. The current disease-oriented and episodic models of emergency care do not adequately respond to the complex care needs of frail older patients. More research is needed to determine the effectiveness of screening and intervention strategies targeting at-risk older ED patients.
Full text links
Related Resources
Trending Papers
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: diagnosis, risk assessment, and treatment.Clinical Research in Cardiology : Official Journal of the German Cardiac Society 2024 April 12
Proximal versus distal diuretics in congestive heart failure.Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation 2024 Februrary 30
World Health Organization and International Consensus Classification of eosinophilic disorders: 2024 update on diagnosis, risk stratification, and management.American Journal of Hematology 2024 March 30
Efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapy in chronic insomnia: A review of clinical guidelines and case reports.Mental Health Clinician 2023 October
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app