Avelino-Silva et al.

BMC Geriatrics 2014, 14:129

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2318/14/129

RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access

Comprehensive geriatric assessment predicts

mortality and adverse outcomes in hospitalized
older adults
Thiago J Avelino-Silva*, Jose M Farfel, Jose AE Curiati, Jose RG Amaral, Flavia Campora and Wilson Jacob-Filho

Abstract
Background: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) provides detailed information on clinical, functional and
cognitive aspects of older patients and is especially useful for assessing frail individuals. Although a large proportion
of hospitalized older adults demonstrate a high level of complexity, CGA was not developed specifically for this
setting. Our aim was to evaluate the application of a CGA model for the clinical characterization and prognostic
prediction of hospitalized older adults.
Methods: This was a prospective observational study including 746 patients aged 60 years and over who were
admitted to a geriatric ward of a university hospital between January 2009 and December 2011, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The proposed CGA was applied to evaluate all patients at admission. The primary outcome was in-hospital death,
and the secondary outcomes were delirium, nosocomial infections, functional decline and length of stay.
Multivariate binary logistic regression was performed to assess independent factors associated with these
outcomes, including socio-demographic, clinical, functional, cognitive, and laboratory variables. Impairment in
ten CGA components was particularly investigated: polypharmacy, activities of daily living (ADL) dependency,
instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) dependency, depression, dementia, delirium, urinary incontinence,
falls, malnutrition, and poor social support.
Results: The studied patients were mostly women (67.4%), and the mean age was 80.57.9 years. Multivariate
logistic regression analysis revealed the following independent factors associated with in-hospital death: IADL
dependency (OR=4.02; CI=1.52-10.58; p=.005); ADL dependency (OR=2.39; CI=1.25-4.56; p=.008); malnutrition
(OR=2.80; CI=1.63-4.83; p<.001); poor social support (OR=5.42; CI=2.93-11.36; p<.001); acute kidney injury (OR=3.05;
CI=1.78-5.27; p<.001); and the presence of pressure ulcers (OR=2.29; CI=1.04-5.07; p=.041). ADL dependency was
independently associated with both delirium incidence and nosocomial infections (respectively: OR=3.78; CI=2.30-6.20;
p<.001 and OR=2.30; CI=1.49-3.49; p<.001). The number of impaired CGA components was also found to be associated
with in-hospital death (p<.001), delirium incidence (p<.001) and nosocomial infections (p=.005). Additionally, IADL
dependency, malnutrition and history of falls predicted longer hospitalizations. There were no significant changes
in overall functional status during the hospital stay.
Conclusions: CGA identified patients at higher risk of in-hospital death and adverse outcomes, of which those
with functional dependence, malnutrition and poor social support were foremost.
Keywords: Geriatric assessment, Outcomes, Hospital care, Delirium, Nutrition

* Correspondence: thiago.junqueira@hc.fm.usp.br
Geriatrics Division, Internal Medicine Department, University of Sao Paulo
Medical School, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil

2014 Avelino-Silva et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the
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Background illness complications. The unit is staffed with a multi-

Hospitalization is frequently required for the treatment disciplinary team that includes geriatricians, nurses, physio-
of acute or uncontrolled illnesses and for invasive diagnos- therapists, speech therapists, social workers, psychologists
tic procedures in older adults. Nonetheless, hospitalization and nutritionists, all of whom meet weekly to discuss
is also considered a risk event for these patients [1-4]. Eld- inpatient cases. The study was approved by the Ethics
erly individuals suffer physiological changes typical of the Committee for Analysis of Research Projects of the
aging process that make them more susceptible to adverse Hospital Clinical Board and conforms to the provisions of
events during hospitalization, which may result in a series the Declaration of Helsinki.
of complications unrelated to the initial cause of admis- All patients consecutisevely admitted to the ward from
sion. These complications may lead to an increased length January 01, 2009 to December 31, 2011 were considered
of hospital stay, functional decline and higher mortality for study inclusion. Patients admitted exclusively for
[1]. Furthermore, one in every three hospitalized older end-of-life care were excluded from the analysis so as
adults loses the ability to perform activities of daily living not to bias the determination of prognostic factors.
(ADLs), and at least 20% develop delirium during their
hospitalization [2,5,6]. Even so, evidence suggests that Comprehensive geriatric assessment
health care providers have low levels of awareness con- A protocol detailing the proposal for the geriatric evalu-
cerning the risks of hospitalization in this population [7]. ation of these patients was designed. The evaluations
The early identification of individuals at greatest risk were completed within the first 24 hours of admission
for complications and unfavorable outcomes would enable and at the end of the hospital stay and were performed
a more adequate treatment plan and a better allocation of by geriatrics fellows under the supervision of permanent
the resources available to the multidisciplinary team [8]. staff physicians. These professionals had received previous
Moreover, while greater efficiency might be achieved in training for proper application of the proposed scales, thus
the proposed treatments, patients and families may be ensuring homogeneous data collection.
better prepared for the subsequent difficulties that follow Demographic and medical history data were initially
hospital discharge. For this purpose, a systematic assess- evaluated. Socioeconomic appraisal used the ABIPEME
ment upon hospital admission may be helpful [8]. Classification [13], which scores patients according to
The term Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) the head of households education level and the household
was first used in the United Kingdom in the late 1930s. number of colored television sets, radio systems, DVD
Later, its concept, parameters and indications motivated players, washing machines, refrigerators, bathrooms, auto-
various scientific research studies [9]. The basic concepts mobiles, and domestic employees (range, 046; 46 = best
and parameters used in CGAs have evolved over the years, score). Subjects who scored 17 points or less and lived
including elements of traditional clinical examinations, alone without care from other family members were
evaluations conducted by social workers, functional evalu- regarded as having poor social support. Histories of
ations performed by rehabilitation specialists, nutritional falls and urinary incontinence were assessed with the
assessments and neuropsychological evaluation methods Debrief of Falls [14] and the Three Incontinence Ques-
[10]. Such assessments are traditionally directed to the tions [15], respectively. Polypharmacy was defined as the
planning of interventions but have also been described as regular use of 5 or more medications. Acute kidney injury
useful to determine prognoses and outcomes [9-12]. diagnosis followed Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN)
The present study sought to develop a protocol for criteria [16].
conducting a standardized and structured CGA at the Current and previous functional status were measured
time of hospital admission of older patients. We aimed by ADLs [17-22] and instrumental activities of daily living
to evaluate the applicability of the proposed model for (IADLs) [19-21,23-25]. ADLs were scored numerically,
thoroughly characterizing these patients and analyzed with higher numbers representing better functioning
the impact of this strategy on the prediction of mortality (range 012; 12 = best score), as were IADLs (range 018;
and on adverse hospital outcomes. 18 = best score) [25]. Previous baseline functionality
was defined as the status at 3 months prior to admis-
Methods sion. Patients with one or more dependencies in ADLs
Study subjects and setting or IADLs were considered ADL-dependent or IADL-
We conducted a prospective observational study involv- dependent, respectively. Patients with dementia were
ing patients admitted to a geriatric ward of a 2,200-bed additionally assessed according to Functional Assessment
tertiary university hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The unit Staging [26,27].
consists of 18 beds and admits non-surgical, non- Cognitive function was evaluated using the Mini-
orthopedic patients aged 60 years and over for in-hospital Mental State Examination (MMSE) [28,29] and the
care. Patients are referred due to acute illnesses or chronic Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the
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Elderly (IQCODE) [30,31]. The IQCODE was modified to tests, and their correlation was tested using the Pearson
consider the status at 3 months prior to admission as the or Spearman methods, according to their distribution of
baseline condition, thus avoiding distortions due to acute normality. Multivariate binary logistic regression was
clinical problems. Patients were classified as possibly performed to assess independent factors associated with
demented when MMSE, IQCODE and previous func- mortality, delirium incidence, nosocomial infections
tional status were altered. Depression diagnosis was and longer hospital stays. Multivariate analysis included
based on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Inter- variables that yielded p values of 0.1 or lower in the initial
view [32-34], the Geriatric Depression Scale [35,36], and univariate analysis. An alpha error of 5% was accepted. In
the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia [37-39]. order to assess the possibility of period effects in the re-
Patients were also evaluated with daily application of sults, outcome frequencies were also compared through-
the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) for delirium out the different semesters of the study. Tests were
detection [40,41]. When positive, patients were further performed using the IBM statistical software SPSS Sta-
assessed for delirium severity with the Delirium Index [42]. tistics for Mac, version 21.0 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp).
Nutritional evaluation was based on the Mini Nutritional
Assessment (MNA) [43,44]. Malnutrition was defined by a Results
MNA score of 17 or less combined with serum albumin In total, 746 cases were included in this study from an
levels lower than 3.5 g/dL. Laboratory tests, selected by the initial sample of 826 patients; 38 (4.6%) subjects admit-
prognostic value defined in previous studies, were also rou- ted for end-of-life care were excluded; 42 (5.1%) cases
tinely collected within the first 24 hours of hospitalization were excluded from the analysis because of incomplete
and included hemoglobin, leukocyte count, creatinine, urea, assessments. Reasons for inadequate completion of the
C-reactive protein, and albumin [6,45]. Glomerular filtra- protocols included the absence of informants accompany-
tion rate was estimated using the Modification of Diet in ing patients with altered cognition (73.8%) and medical
Renal Disease Study Group (MDRD) formula [46]. staff incompliance (26.2%). Regardless, adherence to the
Risk assessment was established using the Charlson protocol exceeded 95%, and the evaluations took an aver-
Comorbidity Index [47], the Cumulative Illness Rating age of 60 minutes to be performed.
Scale for Geriatrics (CIRS-G) [48], and the Burden of The mean age of the population was 80.7 (8.1) years,
Illness Score for Elderly Patients (BISEP) [45]. Data re- with 65.7% (490) of the participants identified as female
lated to hospitalization, including new diagnoses, occur- and 38.1% (284) as married individuals. The mean years
rence of delirium and infections were recorded upon of education were 4.6 ( 3.6), and 37.9% (283) of the
hospital discharge or death. The information collected patients had low or very low socio-economic levels. At
in this study provided a database for future epidemiological, admission, 62.1% (463) of the patients were regularly
clinical and laboratory studies on predictors of clinical using 5 or more medications. Further population charac-
outcomes. teristics and CGA component frequencies are outlined in
Tables 1 and 2, respectively.
Outcome variables and CGA components The overall mortality rate was 12.9% (96), and the
The primary outcome variable was the occurrence of leading cause of death was septic shock (46.7%) followed
in-hospital death. In-hospital adverse events, such as by cardiovascular complications (19.6%) and neoplastic
delirium, nosocomial infections and functional decline, disease complications (12.5%). Characteristics according
were also investigated. Factors associated with length of to all-cause mortality can be found in Table 1. Compared
stay were also analyzed; the median days of hospitalization with the patients who were discharged, those who died
was used as cut-off for classifying length of stay as longer had a significantly higher number of impaired CGA com-
or shorter. Impairment in ten CGA components were par- ponents (Table 2; Figure 1), including functional depend-
ticularly investigated for association with these outcomes: ency, cognitive decline and polypharmacy. Multivariate
polypharmacy; ADL dependency; IADL dependency; binary logistic regression indicated that IADL dependency,
depression; dementia; delirium; urinary incontinence; falls; ADL dependency, malnutrition, poor social support, acute
malnutrition; and poor social support. kidney injury and pressure ulcers at admission were all in-
dependently associated with in-hospital death (Table 3).
Statistical analysis The importance of malnutrition markers stood out, and
A descriptive statistical analysis of baseline demographic, the average score on the MNA was lower in patients who
clinical and laboratory characteristics, and the outcomes died (14.3 5.9 vs. 18.2 5.4; p < .001), with a good correl-
of hospitalization was performed. Categorical variables ation between this score and albumin levels at admission
were compared in each group using contingency tables (rho = 0.5; p < .001). Both the BISEP and CIRS-G scores
and tested using the Chi-squared test. Continuous variables served as predictors of in-hospital mortality in this
were compared using the Student t or MannWhitney population, though with a weak correlation between
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Table 1 Characteristics of the study population at admission and univariate analysis according to in-hospital death
Total (n = 746) No death (n = 650) Death (n = 96) P-value
Demographics
Age 80.7 8.1 80.5 7.9 81.6 9.3 .173
Female, n (%) 490 (65.7) 438 (67.4) 52 (54.2) .011
Married, n (%) 284 (38.1) 246 (37.8) 38 (39.6) .744
Comorbidities
Hypertension, n (%) 682 (78.0) 514 (79.1) 68 (70.8) .069
Diabetes, n (%) 250 (33.5) 222 (34.2) 28 (29.2) .334
Heart failure, n (%) 206 (27.6) 180 (27.7) 26 (27.1) .901
Coronary disease, n (%) 124 (16.6) 106 (16.3) 18 (18.8) .230
Previous stroke, n (%) 124 (16.6) 110 (16.9) 14 (14.6) .219
Obesity, n (%) 82 (11.0) 76 (11.7) 6 (6.3) .112
Osteoporosis, n (%) 120 (16.1) 110 (16.9) 10 (10.4) .105
Osteoarthritis, n (%) 112 (15.0) 102 (15.7) 10 (10.4) .177
Cancer, n (%) 106 (14.2) 92 (14.2) 14 (14.6) .910
COPD, n (%) 76 (10.2) 70 (10.8) 6 (6.3) .172
Acute illness and complications
Acute kidney injury, n (%) 156 (20.9) 118 (18.2) 38 (39.6) <.001
Pressure ulcer, n (%) 50 (6.7) 34 (5.2) 16 (16.7) <.001
Weight loss, n (%) 196 (26.3) 174 (26.8) 22 (22.9) .423
Infection, n (%) 286 (38.3) 236 (36.3) 50 (52.1) .003
Risk assessment
CCI 3.7 2.3 3.7 2.2 3.6 2.2 .433
BISEP 3.0 1.5 2.8 1.5 3.7 1.5 <.001
CIRS-G 10.3 5.0 9.9 4.7 14.1 6.2 .002
Laboratory
Hemoglobin (g/dL) 11.4 2.3 11.4 2.3 11.4 2.0 .704
Creatinine clearance (mL/min/1.73 m2) 48.5 23.8 48.5 22.9 48.3 29.2 .453
Albumin (g/dL) 3.6 0.6 3.6 0.6 3.0 0.6 <.001
Hospital stay (days) 16.7 14.5 16.3 14.4 18.9 14.7 .064
COPD = Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; CCI = Charlson Comorbidity; BISEP = Burden of Illness Score for Elderly Persons; CIRS-G = Cumulative Illness Rating
Scale for Geriatrics.

tests (rho = .14; p = .017). We also verified that neither In total, 124 patients had nosocomial infections, of which
mortality (p = .58), nor the frequency of nosocomial infec- 48.4% were respiratory infections and 27.4% were urinary
tions (p = .11), delirium (p = .32) or longer hospital stays tract infections; mortality reached 30.6% in this group.
(p = .11) significantly varied during the study extent. ADL dependency was frequent (72.6 vs. 53.7%; p < .001)
The number of impairments among the 10 analyzed and independently associated with nosocomial infections
CGA domains was also significantly associated with the (OR = .89/95%CI = .85-.93/p < .001).
incidence of delirium and nosocomial infections (Figure 1). The mean and median lengths of stay were high (16.7
In total, 88 patients developed delirium while hospitalized, and 12.0 days, respectively), and the following CGA com-
with a 26.1% mortality. These patients were more fre- ponents were related to longer hospitalizations: IADL de-
quently male (40.9 vs. 28.8%; p < .001), demented (35.2 pendency, malnutrition and history of falls (Table 3). Only
vs. 15.2%; p < .001), ADL and IADL dependent (75% vs. 52.0% (454) of the subjects were independent in all ADLs
40%, p < .001), malnourished (59.1 vs. 34.2%; p < .001), at admission and 32.7% (337) in all IADLs. Notably,
and infected at admission (40.9 vs. 29.6; p = .035). ADL 3 months before admission, the mean ADL and IADL
and IADL dependency, malnutrition, and dementia were scores were 8.9 4.1 and 8.5 7.1, respectively, while
independently associated with this complication (Table 3). at admission, these scores had decreased to 7.3 4.7
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Table 2 Univariate analysis of comprehensive geriatric assessment components according to in-hospital death
Total (n = 746) No death (n = 650) Death (n = 96) P-value
Number of medications 5.4 3.5 5.2 3.2 6.9 3.5 <.001
ADLs (range 012; 12 = best) 7.3 4.7 7.7 4.5 4.4 2.8 <.001
ADL dependency, n (%) 292 (48.0) 252 (46.0) 40 (66.7) .002
IADLs (range 018; 18 = best) 7.2 6.2 7.9 7.2 2.8 2.2 <.001
IADL dependency, n (%) 409 (67.3) 355 (64.8) 54 (90.0) <.001
Depression, n (%) 224 (30.0) 206 (31.7) 18 (18.8) .010
Dementia, n (%) 194 (26.0) 156 (24.0) 38 (39.6) .001
Prevalent delirium, n (%) 138 (18.5) 102 (15.7) 36 (37.5) <.001
Urinary incontinence, n (%) 350 (46.9) 304 (46.8) 46 (47.9) .833
Falls*, n (%) 96 (12.9) 84 (12.9) 12 (12.5) .908
Malnutrition 314 (42.1) 242 (37.2) 72 (75.0) <.001
Poor social support 203 (27.2) 141 (21.7) 62 (64.6) <.001
*Two or more falls during the last 12 months.
ADLs = Activities of Daily Living; IADLs = Instrumental Activities of Daily Living.

and 7.2 6.2, indicating a significant functional decline conditions but also social, neuropsychological, nutritional
(p < .001). Despite these findings, there were no signifi- and environmental factors are crucial to the clinical
cant changes in overall functional status during the hos- evaluation [9,10,49,50]. In such settings, we find a high
pital stay, nor were factors identified that could reliably frequency of individuals with cognitive impairment,
predict the functional evolution throughout this period. functional dependence and malnutrition, as demonstrated
The mean IQCODE score was 3.8 .8, and the mean in our results.
MMSE score among non-delirious patients was 19.3 8.0. Recent studies have also investigated the use of CGA
The systematic assessment of cognition associated with as a prognostic instrument and concluded that several of
functional evaluations enabled the detection of 134 its components are cornerstones for clinical decision-
possible new cases of dementia among patients who making [12,51,52]. Our model proved valuable precisely
had not been diagnosed during their outpatient moni- in the detection of these key aspects and demonstrated
toring. Furthermore, screening for prevalent delirium that the functional, cognitive, nutritional and social com-
identified 154 (19.6%) cases of the condition. Among ponents of CGA are predictors of in-hospital mortality.
these subjects, those who died in the hospital presented a Various CGA domains also predicted other adverse out-
higher mean Delirium Index score at admission (15.5 4.1 comes, such as delirium incidence, nosocomial infec-
vs. 12.2 3.5; p = .020). tions and longer hospital stays. Functional dependency
was an especially important predictor of these events.
Discussion Knowing this, early rehabilitation strategies are followed
The importance of CGA emerges in environments such in our unit and possibly explain why no significant
as the geriatric ward, recognizing that not only medical changes in overall functionality were observed throughout

Figure 1 Number of impaired comprehensive geriatric assessment components according to adverse outcomes.
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Table 3 Independent predictors of in-hospital death and we confirmed the importance of prevalent delirium and
adverse outcomes, after multivariate logistic regression dementia as associated factors to unfavorable outcomes
OR 95% CI p and their accurate recognition is essential to potentially
In-hospital death improve the quality of in-hospital care.
IADL dependency 4.02 1.52-10.58 .005 A limitation to this study is that we did not collect
data to formally recognize frail individualsa subset of
ADL dependency 2.39 1.25-4.56 .008
patients for whom CGA can be particularly useful. The
Malnutrition 2.80 1.63-4.83 <.001
high frequency of multi-component CGA abnormalities
Poor social support 5.42 2.93-11.36 <.001 that was found indicates that this was a high-risk group
Acute kidney injury 3.05 1.78-5.27 <.001 for the development of geriatric syndromes and that
Presence of pressure ulcer 2.29 1.04-5.07 .041 many subjects were likely to be frail individuals. Future
Delirium incidence studies on the association between in-hospital CGA and
frailty characteristics are necessary to better understand
IADL dependency 3.52 1.63-7.62 .001
the syndrome in the hospital setting.
ADL dependency 3.78 2.30-6.20 <.001
A drawback that restricts the systematic implementation
Malnutrition 1.95 1.35-2.80 <.001 of CGA is that it is time consuming, as we observed in
Dementia 3.0 2.04-4.40 <.001 our results. However, we also found that hospitalization,
Nosocomial infections by allowing more time to assess each patient, provided the
ADL dependency 2.30 1.49-3.49 <.001 possibility for a detailed and structured clinical evaluation.
Regarding the results, the elevated presence of totally
Longer hospital stay
dependent and cognitively impaired patients associated to
IADL dependency 2.40 1.69-3.40 <.001
a floor effect in the functional measurements that were
Malnutrition 1.46 1.10-1.98 .016 employed, might have played a part in the lack of func-
Falls* 1.81 1.16-2.83 .009 tional variability that was described. Also, despite the sub-
*Two or more falls during the last 12 months. jects of this analysis having similar characteristics to those
ADLs = Activities of Daily Living; IADLs = Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. of previously reported studies [8,57], this was a single-
center study and our findings have limited generalizability.
the hospitalization. Previous studies proposing early Another limitation is that we did not address the
rehabilitation interventions have been able to prevent long-term effects of using CGA in hospitalized older
in-hospital functional decline, though not necessarily adults. Research focusing on its impact on post-discharge
reverse it, indicating that post-discharge programs are mortality, institutionalization and re-admissions should be
essential to return patients to independence [53,54]. pursued. Furthermore, controlled studies would be helpful
Likewise, nutritional support and supplementation should to establish causality relations and to eliminate confusion
be considered. The negative impact of social deprivation factors. Homogeneous models of assessment must be
on prognosis is well established but poorly understood, further developed for the results to be comparable and for
and additional work is necessary to understand how to the best assessment strategies to be identified [58-61].
alleviate its effect on morbidity and mortality [55]. Finally,
the importance of other indicators of clinical severity Conclusion
should not be forgotten, demonstrated herein by the The systematic incorporation of a standardized and
impact of acute kidney injury on prognosis and by the scientifically based method of baseline assessment of
usefulness of scales that reflect burden of illness, such as hospitalized older patients aims to optimize patients
the BISEP and CIRS-G [56]. clinical and functional outcomes and quality of life by
We verified an improvement in the detection of cogni- increasing the overall detection of modifiable factors
tive deficits, particularly the advance in the diagnoses of and implementing adequate care. The validity of CGA
chronic conditions and the early identification of acute for identifying factors associated with the occurrence
confusional states. That possibly 40% of cases of dementia of death and other adverse outcomes in the setting of a
had gone undetected in the outpatient setting is worri- geriatric in-patient unit was shown herein, as was the
some and should trigger a revision of follow-up strategies. importance of thorough cognitive, functional, social
Regarding the recognition of delirium at admission, previ- and nutritional evaluations. Such care is critical to
ous data in the same setting, prior to the routine applica- elucidate fundamental conditions for the therapeutic
tion of the CAM, indicated a prevalence of the condition decision process.
of only 5.2% [6]. After the inclusion of the instrument in
our CGA, the number increased almost four-fold. Though Competing interests
not independent predictors of mortality in this population, The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Authors contributions 17. Katz S, Ford AB, Moskowitz RW, Jackson BA, Jaffe MW: Studies of illness in
TJAS contributed to the concept and design, data acquisition, analysis and the aged. The index of Adl: a standardized measure of biological and
interpretation, and preparation of the manuscript. JMF contributed to the psychosocial function. JAMA 1963, 185:914919.
concept and design, analysis and interpretation, and preparation of the 18. Brorsson B, Asberg KH: Katz index of independence in ADL. Reliability and
manuscript. JAEC contributed to the concept and design, data acquisition, validity in short-term care. Scand J Rehabil Med 1984, 16(3):125132.
and preparation of the manuscript. JRGA contributed to the concept and 19. Sager MA, Franke T, Inouye SK, Landefeld CS, Morgan TM, Rudberg MA,
design, data acquisition, and preparation of the manuscript. FC contributed Sebens H, Winograd CH: Functional outcomes of acute medical illness
to the data acquisition and preparation of the manuscript. WJF contributed and hospitalization in older persons. Arch Intern Med 1996, 156(6):645652.
to the concept and design, data interpretation, and preparation of the 20. McCusker J, Kakuma R, Abrahamowicz M: Predictors of functional decline
manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. in hospitalized elderly patients: a systematic review. J Gerontol A Biol Sci
Med Sci 2002, 57(9):M569M577.
Acknowledgements 21. Graf C: Functional decline in hospitalized older adults. Am J Nurs 2006,
We thank those members of our fellowship program and multidisciplinary 106(1):5867. quiz 6758.
team who assisted with the evaluation of our patients, without whom the 22. Maziere S, Couturier P, Gavazzi G: Impact of functional status on the onset
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Received: 3 September 2014 Accepted: 26 November 2014 23. Lawton MP, Moss M, Fulcomer M, Kleban MH: A research and service
Published: 3 December 2014 oriented multilevel assessment instrument. J Gerontol 1982, 37(1):9199.
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