Hospital Use by the Extremely Elderly (Nonagenarians): A Two‐year Study

Abstract

Eighty-seven community-dwelling nonagenarians provided with extensive medical and social services as needed were followed for two years. Fifty-one subjects were admitted to an acute care hospital at least once. Total durations of hospitalization for those who required it averaged 44 days per individual over the two years. This represents about 13 hospital days per year per nonagenarian . Since it is likely that few, if any, hospitalizations would have been preventable by additional services, these data suggest that at a minimum one hospital bed would be continuously occupied for every 28 persons of this age and of this degree of infirmity . In these times of fiscal restraint it is especially important that the government and third-party payers determine the level of funding for expensive services such as acute hospitalization by assessing the needs of those who use them.

Mortality and Morbidity in Nonagenarian Patients following Hip Fracture Surgery

“…The elderly often require many medical and social aids [26]. However, in our study the majority of patients did not require hospitalization in the previous year, and showed a low comorbidity score.…”

Natural History of Functional Decline 1 Year After Hospital Discharge in Nonagenarian Patients

“…A remarkably low prevalence of institutionalization (10%) previous to admission was found. Many nonagenarians are functionally independent despite their advanced age 1 . More than 50% of our patients had good functional status before admission.…”

“…To the Editor: The use of hospital care increases significantly with age, especially by extremely elderly patients such as nonagenarians 1,2 . Almost one‐third of older adults hospitalized for acute medical illness decline in their ability to perform basic activities of daily living (ADLs) at discharge 3 .…”

Physician‐Directed Long‐Term Home Health Care for the Elderly—A Century‐Long Experience

“…In addition we have looked at hospital utilization among the highest users. Eighty‐seven nonagenarians, half of whom lived alone, were studied over a two‐year‐period 15 . Sixty percent of the individuals used the VN service and 60% used HHAs or HMs.…”