Vertigo and dizziness count among the most frequent symptoms in outpatient practices. Although most vestibular disorders are manageable, they are often under- and misdiagnosed in primary care. This may result in prolonged absence from work, increased resource use and, potentially, in chronification. Reliable information on health services utilization of patients with vertigo in primary care is scarce. Retrospective cohort study in patients referred to a tertiary care balance clinic. Included patients had a confirmed diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), Menière's disease (MD), vestibular paroxysmia (VP), bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP), vestibular migraine (VM), or psychogenic vertigo (PSY). All previous diagnostic and therapeutic measures prior to the first visit to the clinic were recorded. 2,374 patients were included (19.7 % BPPV, 12.7 % MD, 5.8 % VP, 7.2 % BVP, 14.1 % VM, 40.6 % PSY), 61.3 % with more than two consultations. Most frequent diagnostic measures were magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, 76.2 %, 71 % in BPPV) and electrocardiography (53.5 %). Most frequent therapies were medication (61.0 %) and physical therapy (41.3 %). 37.3 % had received homoeopathic medication (39 % in BPPV), and 25.9 % were treated with betahistine (20 % in BPPV). Patients had undergone on average 3.2 (median 3.0, maximum 6) diagnostic measures, had received 1.8 (median 2.0, maximum 8) therapies and 1.8 (median 1.0, maximum 17) different drugs. Diagnostic subgroups differed significantly regarding number of diagnostic measures, therapies and drugs. The results emphasize the need for establishing systematic training to improve oto-neurological skills in primary care services not specialized on the treatment of dizzy patients.

The extent of loneliness was equally distributed between men and women, although women were more disadvantaged regarding living arrangements as well as physical and mental health. However, loneliness was stronger associated with adverse mental health conditions in men. These findings should be considered when developing intervention strategies to reduce loneliness.

Patients hospitalized for an acute illness or injury are at risk of experiencing a significant loss of functioning as defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The risk of a significant loss of functioning is increased in critically ill patients, in patients with complications or long-term intensive care stays, in persons with disabilities or with pre-existing chronic conditions and in the elderly. Early identification of rehabilitation needs and early start of rehabilitation can reduce healthcare costs by reducing dependence and nursing care, length of stay and prevention of disability. Two principles of rehabilitation for acute and early post-acute care can be distinguished. First, the provision of rehabilitation by health professionals who are generally not specialized in rehabilitation in the acute hospital. And second, specialized rehabilitation care provided by an interdisciplinary team. There is large variation how this specialized, typically post-acute rehabilitation care is organized, provided, and reimbursed in different countries, regions, and settings. For instance, it may be provided either in the acute hospital or in a rehabilitation or nursing setting. Most in-patients do not receive specialized rehabilitation at all during their whole stay in the acute hospital. But, it is important to point out that health professionals working in acute hospitals and who are not specialized in rehabilitation need to be able to recognize patients' needs for rehabilitation care and to perform rehabilitation interventions themselves or to assign patients to appropriate rehabilitation care settings. The principles outlined in this paper can serve as a basis for the development of clinical assessment instruments to describe and classify functioning, health and disability of patients receiving acute or early post-acute rehabilitation care.

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The goal of this paper is to report on the background and the methods used in the ICF Core Set development for patients in the acute hospital and early post-acute rehabilitation facilities. ICF Core Sets are sets of categories out of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) which can serve as minimal standards for the assessment, communication and reporting of functioning and health for clinical studies, clinical encounters and multi-professional comprehensive assessment and management. The ICF Core Sets were developed in a formal decision-making and consensus process, integrating evidence gathered from preliminary studies and expert opinion. The Acute ICF Core Sets for patients with neurological, musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary conditions are intended for use by physicians, nurses, therapists and other health professionals working in the acute hospital on medical, surgical or other units not specialised in rehabilitation. The Post-acute ICF Core Sets for geriatric patients and patients with neurological, musculoskeletal or cardiopulmonary conditions are intended for use by physicians, nurses, therapists and other health professionals involved in early post-acute rehabilitation. The Acute and Post-acute ICF Core Sets are first versions and need to be tested and validated in the patient and professional perspective and in different countries, regions, health care and provider settings.

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BackgroundToday industrialized countries face a burgeoning aged population. Thus, there is increasing attention on the functioning and disabilities of aged adults as potential determinants of autonomy and independent living. However, there are few representative findings on the prevalence and determinants of disability in aged persons in the German population.The objective of our study is to examine the frequency, distribution and determinants of functioning and disability in aged persons and to assess the contribution of diseases to the prevalence of disability.MethodsData originate from the MONICA/KORA study, a population-based epidemiological cohort. Survivors of the original cohorts who were 65 and older were examined by telephone interview in 2009. Disability was assessed with the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI). Minimal disability was defined as HAQ-DI > 0. Logistic regression was used to adjust for potential confounders and additive regression to estimate the contribution of diseases to disability prevalence.ResultsWe analyzed a total of 4117 persons (51.2% female) with a mean age of 73.6 years (SD = 6.1). Minimal disability was present in 44.7% of all participants. Adjusted for age and diseases, disability was positively associated with female sex, BMI, low income, marital status, physical inactivity and poor nutritional status, but not with smoking and education. Problems with joint functions and eye diseases contributed most to disability prevalence in all age groups.ConclusionsIn conclusion, this study could show that there are vulnerable subgroups of aged adults who should receive increased attention, specifically women, those with low income, those over 80, and persons with joint or eye diseases. Physical activity, obesity and malnutrition were identified as modifiable factors for future targeted interventions.

ImportanceTrauma is a global disease and is among the leading causes of disability in the world. The importance of outcome beyond trauma survival has been recognised over the last decade. Despite this there is no internationally agreed approach for assessment of health outcome and rehabilitation of trauma patients.ObjectiveTo systematically examine to what extent outcomes measures evaluate health outcomes in patients with major trauma.Data SourcesMEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL (from 2006–2012) were searched for studies evaluating health outcome after traumatic injuries.Study selection and data extractionStudies of adult patients with injuries involving at least two body areas or organ systems were included. Information on study design, outcome measures used, sample size and outcomes were extracted. The World Health Organisation International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF) were used to evaluate to what extent outcome measures captured health impacts.Results34 studies from 755 studies were included in the review. 38 outcome measures were identified. 21 outcome measures were used only once and only five were used in three or more studies. Only 6% of all possible health impacts were captured. Concepts related to activity and participation were the most represented but still only captured 12% of all possible concepts in this domain. Measures performed very poorly in capturing concepts related to body function (5%), functional activities (11%) and environmental factors (2%).ConclusionOutcome measures used in major trauma capture only a small proportion of health impacts. There is no inclusive classification for measuring disability or health outcome following trauma. The ICF may provide a useful framework for the development of a comprehensive health outcome measure for trauma care.