PERSONS FOUND IN THEIR HOMES HELPLESS OR DEAD

Background. Healthcare providers and providers of emergency services a re sometimes Galled to help with people who are found alone in their h omes either helpless or dead. It is not known who is at risk for being found helpless or dead, what the mortality rates are among those foun d alive, or how frequently this situation occurs. Methods. We conducte d a population-based study of patients who were found in their homes e ither helpless or dead. Over 12 weeks, paramedics employed by the city of San Francisco identified 387 such events involving 367 persons. We obtained information on these patients from the emergency-medical-ser vices department or the hospitals to which they were taken and determi ned their outcomes. Results. The median age of the persons found helpl ess or dead was 73 years; 51 percent were women. The frequency of such incidents increased sharply with age, from a rate of 3 per 1000 per y ear among those 60 to 64 years of age to 27 per 1000 per year among th ose 85 years of age or older. The highest rate was among men 85 years and older who were living alone (123 per 1000 per year). In 23 percent of the cases, the person was found dead, an additional 5 percent died in the hospital. Thus, total mortality was 28 percent, Of the patient s found alive, 62 percent were admitted to the hospital. The average h ospital stay was eight days, and 52 percent of those admitted required intensive care. Of the survivors, 62 percent were unable to return to living independently. The total mortality was 67 percent for patients who were estimated to have been helpless for more than 72 hours, as c ompared with 12 percent for those who had been helpless for less than 1 hour. Conclusions. For elderly people who live alone, becoming incap acitated and unable to Set help is a common event, which usually marks the end of their ability to live independently. (C) 1996, Massachuset ts Medical Society.