Short- and long-term outcomes of older patients in intermediate care units.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate short- and long-term outcomes of elderly patients (>or=65 years) treated at an intermediate care unit (IMCU) and to identify outcome predictors. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective observational study in the IMCU of a university teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: We studied 412 patients over 8 months, classified into three groups: under 65years (control group, n=158), 65-80 (n=186), and >80 (n=68). MEASUREMENTS: At admission: APACHE II, TISS-28 first day, Charlson Index, diagnosis, and prior Barthel Index. OUTCOME MEASURES: in-hospital mortality, length of stay, discharge destination, and 2-year mortality and readmissions. Data analysis included multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics area under the curve (ROC AUC). RESULTS: No statistically significant differences between groups were observed in hospital mortality (14.1%), discharge to a long-term facility (2.7%), or 2-year readmissions (1.2+/-2.1). However, hospital stay was longer in patients aged 65-80years (14 vs.10 days) and 2-year mortality was higher in those 65 or over (34% vs.10.6%). In the overall series in-hospital mortality was predicted by APACHE II, first-day TISS-28, and diagnosis (ROC AUC 0.81), and 2-year mortality by Charlson Index and age (ROC AUC 0.77). In the elderly patients 2-year mortality was predicted by Charlson and Barthel indices (ROC AUC 0.70). CONCLUSIONS: Illness severity and therapeutic intervention at admission to IMCU were predictors of short-term mortality, whereas the strongest predictor of long-term mortality was comorbidity. Our results suggest that comprehensive assessment of elderly patients at admission to IMCUs may improve outcome prediction.