Search

Introduction: Functional capacity is a good indicator of health, quality of life, and a good predictor of morbimortality. It is a priority to functionally assess the geriatric population through objective, precise, and simple instruments. The Alusti Test in its two versions, complete (TA) and abbreviated (TAA), is a scale that meets these criteria., Objective: To determine the usefulness of the Alusti Test as a predictor of adverse health events: falls, hospitalizations, cognitive deterioration, and mortality in the elderly institutionalized population, with a two-year follow-up., Material and Methods: This observational study's sample included 176 persons admitted to a nursing home for 32months, with a mean age of 85.5years. The TA was performed on 138 and the TAA on 38., Results: The ratio of falls is much higher in residents with mild dependence than in those with total dependence (P<.001). Hospitalizations increase as the results of the Alusti Test are more favorable. The risk of hospitalization in dependent patients is 50% lower (P<.001) than in those with preserved mobility. Cognitive impairment is similar in all the populations with some mild-moderate level of functional dependence and decreases in the population with preserved mobility. Categorization as total and mild/severe dependence is related to a 3-4times higher mortality at six months follow-up., Conclusions: A higher mild-moderate level of dependence on the AT correlates with a lower risk of falls, a lower rate of hospitalization, and a higher risk of mortality at six months., (Copyright © 2024 SEGG. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The Workshop on Osteoporosis, Falls and Fractures (GCOF) of The Spanish Geriatrics and Gerontology Society (SEGG) formed a committee in order to review the state of the art on the detection, risk factors and assessment tools for falls, and intervention protocols when falls occurs in nursing homes, long-term hospitals or medium-stay units. The different patient profiles are described in order to make a comprehensive approach to this heterogeneous topic and population, offering a risk classification and specific advice according to these categories., (Copyright © 2011 SEGG. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)