Acute care of patients aged 95 to 99 years: Experience in a community teaching hospital

Background. People older than 90 years represent an increasing segment of t he US population, but little information exists on their hospitalization fo r acute illness. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of patien ts aged 95 through 99 years admitted during 1 year to a large teaching hosp ital. Results. Of 43 patients admitted at least once, 14 were admitted twice, 6 w ere admitted three times, and 1 was admitted four times; 35 (81%) were wome n, and 8 (19%) were men. Patients admitted more than once took a mean of 6. 8 +/- 3.3 drugs compared with 4.4 +/- 2.6 drugs for patients admitted only once, Routine laboratory values were typically normal or mildly abnormal. M ean hospitalization was 5.6 +/- 3.5 days. Only 2 patients (5%) died. All 11 patients with a recent fall were discharged to a long-term nursing facilit y, compared with only 18 of 30 patients without a recent fall. Conclusions. Patients aged 95 through 99 years generally have a favorable p rognosis when hospitalized for an acute medical condition. However, patient s with a recent fall are more likely to require placement in a long-term nu rsing facility, and patients taking six or more drugs on admission are more likely to be rehospitalized within 12 months.