JAMDA
Volume 12, Issue 1 , Pages 29-32, January 2011

Effectiveness of Short-Term Interdisciplinary Intervention on Postacute Patients in Taiwan

  • Wei-Ju Lee, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Family Medicine, Yuanshan Veterans Hospital, Taiwan
    • National Yang Ming University School of Medicine, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Li-Ning Peng, MD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan
    • National Yang Ming University School of Medicine, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Yuan-Yang Cheng, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Yuanshan Veterans Hospital, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Ching-Yi Liu, RN

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nursing, Yuanshan Veterans Hospital, Taiwan
    • ,
  • Liang-Kung Chen, MD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan
    • National Yang Ming University School of Medicine, Taiwan
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to Liang-Kung Chen, MD, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Shih-Pai Road Section 2, Taipei, Taiwan 11217.
    • ,
  • Hann-Chin Yu, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Family Medicine, Yuanshan Veterans Hospital, Taiwan

published online 06 August 2010.

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of community hospital–based postacute care (PAC) for frail older patients and to provide a baseline profile of functional gain during PAC for use in further long-term outcome studies.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

A community hospital in Taiwan.

Participants

Elderly patients admitted to a community hospital with acute or postacute conditions.

Measurements

Barthel Index, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Mini-Mental State Examination, and Geriatric Depression Scale.

Intervention

A comprehensive geriatric assessment–based functional re-ablement program.

Results

Data were collected for 251 patients recruited between July 2006 and June 2008 from Taipei Veterans General Hospital and the acute wards of Yuanshan Veterans Hospital. Overall, clinical improvement was significant in various dimensions, including cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination from 11.9 ± 8.1 to 15.1 ± 8.3, P < .001), physical function (Barthel Index from 42.2 ± 34.1 to 64.9 ± 33.7, P < .001; Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living from 1.8 ± 2.4 to 3.0 ± 2.8, P < .001), depression (Geriatric Depression Scale from 0.9 ± 1.9 to 0.6 ± 1.3, P < .001), ambulation (timed up-and-go test from 16.4 ± 19.6 to 10.1 ± 19.0, P < .001), and nutrition (Mini Nutritional Assessment from 15.0 ± 4.2 to 17.4 ± 3.7, P < .001).

Conclusion

A short-term inpatient physical re-ablement program conducted by an interdisciplinary geriatric team in a community hospital can successfully improve the physical and mental function, mood, ambulation, and nutritional conditions of postacute patients. Further study is needed to evaluate long-term clinical outcomes of patients with different rates of functional recovery during treatment in a PAC unit.

Keywords: Comprehensive geriatric assessment, elderly, geriatrics, postacute care

 

 The authors have no conflicts of interest.

PII: S1525-8610(10)00003-4

doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2010.01.002

JAMDA
Volume 12, Issue 1 , Pages 29-32, January 2011

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