Article
Investigation of clinical, functional and treatment characteristics in hospitalized geriatric patients in Munich, Germany, between 2014 and 2018
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Authors
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Andreas Beyerlein
- Referat für Gesundheit und Umwelt, Landeshauptstadt München, Munich, Deutschland
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Eva Rosenfeld
- Referat für Gesundheit und Umwelt, Landeshauptstadt München, Munich, Deutschland
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Christian Nagel
- Referat für Gesundheit und Umwelt, Landeshauptstadt München, Munich, Deutschland
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Thomas Tümena
- GiB-Dat Database, Nuremberg, Deutschland
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Susann Schmidt
- Referat für Gesundheit und Umwelt, Landeshauptstadt München, Munich, Deutschland
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GiB-Dat Database
- Nuremberg, Deutschland
| Published: | September 25, 2020 |
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Outline
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Background: The City of Munich (Landeshauptstadt München) is currently building up a comprehensive medical health services concept based on empirical data from local health service suppliers. In this context, the assessment of individual characteristics and treatment decisions in hospitalized geriatric patients is of great relevance.
Research questions and objectives: We investigated clinical, functional and treatment characteristics in n=18,066 geriatric patients who were hospitalized in one out of ten specific clinics from Munich, Germany, between 2014 and 2018.
Methods: Information about the geriatric hospitalization cases was collected in the GiB-DAT (Geriatrics in Bavaria databank) database using standardized protocols. With the exception of delayed data transmissions, the database is likely to cover all relevant cases during the study period.
Results: The patients were hospitalized at a median (interquartile range (IQR)) age of 85 (80–89) years, with 12,333 patients (68.3%) being female. With 11,737 (65.0%), the majority of the cases was assigned to an in-patient acute geriatric unit, compared to 5,033 (27.9%) and 1,296 (7.2%) cases who were assigned to an in-patient geriatric rehabilitation unit or to an acute geriatric unit on a daycare basis, respectively. The median (IQR) Barthel index at hospitalization was 40 (20-55) and improved by 15 (5-30) units until hospital discharge. With 13,915 (77.0%), most patients had more than one main diagnosis, while the average number of main diagnoses per patient, and also their association with time until discharge, differed substantially between clinics.
Discussion: These data provide for the first time an almost comprehensive view on the characteristics and treatment of geriatric hospitalized patients in Munich. The majority of patients was multimorbid and showed considerable improvement during hospital stay according to Barthel index.
Practical implications: The results may contribute to the design and evaluation of measurements for the improvement of health care in geriatric units in Munich.
