NONAGENARIAN IN INTERNAL-MEDICINE AND GER IATRIC SHORT-STAY UNIT - STUDY ON 150 CASES

Very elderly patients represent an increasing rate of hospitalized pat ients in internal medicine unit. Their admission and discharge modes, their morbidity and explaining factors for length of stay are still ba d knowned. This prospective study concerns 150 patients stays, over 90 , in an internal medicine and geriatric unit. Morbidity is mainly rela ted with a high number of diagnoses (3.4 +/- 1.5). Most of them (2.8 /- 1.3) are relevant for the hospitalization. The major categories of observed diseases are degenerative dementia, arrythmias and adverse dr ug reactions. The main hospitalization mode is the non programmated on e. We noted a high rate of death during hospitalization (17%). The mai n discharge mode is return home (88%). The length of stay among the su rvivals is significantly correlated (P < .001) with the number of diag noses, the need for institutionalization and the sex. This pattern exp lains more than 20% of the variance of the length of stay. The data co nfim the specificity of the medical care of very elderly patients. The y also suggest that the french model of medicalization of the informat ion system must be adaptated to increase its pertinency among very eld erly.