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Rehabilitation of frail elderly patients is challenging. In particular, subjects affected by cognitive impairment require an early and tailored rehabilitation treatment in order to obtain a functional gain that could be comparable to cognitively normal individuals. Our aim was to investigate the functional gain of a population of older patients divided according to their cognitive status. We collected retrospectively the medical charts of 207 patients aged ≥65 admitted to Fondazione Gusmini rehabilitation facility (Vertova, Italy) during an 18-month period (2015–2016). We collected data through a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Outcome measures were absolute functional gain (AFG=Barthel Index at discharge – upon admission), and rehabilitation efficiency index (REI=AFG/length of stay). We compared cognitively impaired subjects (Group 1 MMSE

Delirium is a common complication in elderly subjects hospitalized for hip fracture (HF). However, this geriatric syndrome is multifactorial and heterogeneous in terms of clinical presentation and outcomes. Different classifications have been proposed to describe delirium variants, but literature focusing on the prognostic impact of delirium motor subtypes in hip fracture patients is sparse and inconsistent.

Background: Hip fracture (HF) is increasingly frequent with advancing age. Studies describing the HF incidence rate and survival after surgery in centenarians are scanty. To fill this gap, we performed a large population-based investigation on Lombardy centenarians (Italy). Methods: Retrospective observational cohort study based on information from the Healthcare Utilization Database. Among the cohort of 7,830 residents that reached 100 years of age between 2004 and 2011, incidence rate of HF was calculated. Two hundred fifty-nine patients were discharged alive from a hospital after HF and surgical repair (HF cohort). For each HF cohort member, a control was randomly selected from the initial cohort to be matched for gender and date of birth, and who did not experience HF from the date of their hundredth birthday until the date of hospital discharge of the corresponding HF cohort member. The survival curves and the hazard functions of HF and control cohort were calculated within 2 years. Results: Over a mean follow-up of 1.85 years, HF incidence rate was 23.1 per 1,000 centenarians per year. Survival probability was significantly lower in HF cohort than in control cohort (31.5 vs 48.1%, p

Objective: to evaluate the performance of the 4 ‘A’s Test (4AT) in screening for delirium in older patients. The 4AT is a new test for rapid screening of delirium in routine clinical practice. Design: prospective study of consecutively admitted elderly patients with independent 4AT and reference standard assessments. Setting: an acute geriatrics ward and a department of rehabilitation. Participants: two hundred and thirty-six patients (aged ≥70 years) consecutively admitted over a period of 4 months. Measurements: in each centre, the 4AT was administered by a geriatrician to eligible patients within 24 h of admission. Reference standard delirium diagnosis (DSM-IV-TR criteria) was obtained within 30 min by a different geriatrician who was blind to the 4AT score. The presence of dementia was assessed using the Alzheimer's Questionnaire and the informant section of the Clinical Dementia Rating scale. The main outcome measure was the accuracy of the 4AT in diagnosing delirium. Results: patients were 83.9 ± 6.1 years old, and the majority were women (64%). Delirium was detected in 12.3% (n = 29), dementia in 31.2% (n = 74) and a combination of both in 7.2% (n = 17). The 4AT had a sensitivity of 89.7% and specificity 84.1% for delirium. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for delirium diagnosis were 0.93 in the whole population, 0.92 in patients without dementia and 0.89 in patients with dementia. Conclusions: the 4AT is a sensitive and specific method of screening for delirium in hospitalised older people. Its brevity and simplicity support its use in routine clinical practice.