Elderly at Discharge

Predicting the Demise of the Elderly at Discharge

Emergency Medicine Literature of Note - March 14, 2016 - Posted by Ryan Radecki

(Ref: “Poor Outcomes After Emergency Department Discharge of the Elderly: A Case-Control Study”)

"The Emergency Department is a high-risk setting. The elderly are a high-risk population – if only by actuarial measures alone. Despite the inherit natural risks – might there be a clue on top of physician gestalt predicting poor outcomes of the elderly discharged from the Emergency Department? 

Without much further ado, the items with the most relevant adjusted odds ratios for their combined outcome: 

• Systolic blood pressure <120 bpm. 
• Pulse greater than 90 mmHg. 
• Mental status change. 
• Initial documentation of intention to admit, subsequently changed to discharge."