USE OF A SHORT-FORM SCREENING-PROCEDURE TO DETECT UNRECOGNIZED FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY IN THE HOSPITALIZED ELDERLY

We performed an observational cohort study to test the ability of a sh ort-form screening procedure to detect unrecognized functional disabil ity, as well as its capacity to predict clinical outcome. This screeni ng procedure was administered to 198 consecutive patients within 48 ho urs of admission. Clinical outcomes upon discharge from the acute care hospital and at 3 months were analyzed according to the number of fun ctional disabilities present on admission. This brief test identified a mean of 1.8 and a median of 1 previously unrecognized functional dis abilities per patient. The presence of two or more functional disabili ties on admission (48% of the study population) was significantly asso ciated with a negative outcome upon discharge (relative risk = 1.73; C l, 1.33-2.25; p = 0.0001) and at 3 months after discharge (relative ri sk = 1.34; Cl, 1.10-1.64; p = 0.003) confirming the reliability of the short-form screening procedure. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.