• Thalie Traissac, Marie-Neige Videau, Marie-José Bourdil, Isabelle Bourdel-Marchasson, and Nathalie Salles.
• Post-emergency Geriatric Unit, Hôpital St André, Bordeaux, France.
• Aging Clin Exp Res. 2011 Jun 1;23(3):217-22.

Background And AimsSpecific postemergency short-stay geriatric units may decrease length of hospital stay, functional decline, and early readmission rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate risk factors of early rehospitalization in a shortstay geriatric unit.MethodsThis study was a prospective observational study comprising over one year patients aged over 75 years, admitted to the post-emergency short-stay geriatric unit (Hôpital Saint André, Bordeaux, France) and discharged home. Socio-demographic data, length of hospital stay, and a standardized geriatric assessment were collected for all patients. One month after home discharge, patients were followed-up by phone, and the hospital readmission rate was calculated.Statistical Analysesdescriptive, unvaried and multivariate analyses were carried out.ResultsA total of 476 patients were included in this study (mean age 86.5±6 yrs; 154 men, 322 women). Mean length of stay in the post-emergency short-stay geriatric unit was 6.3±2.7 days, and a total of 68 (14.3%) patients were readmitted within one month after home discharge. The readmission rate was associated with a diagnosis of delirium (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.9; 95% CI 1.1-3.3; p=0.02), mean length of stay exceeding 6 days (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.5; p=0.02), and decision of home discharge (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.4-4.1; p=0.002).ConclusionShort mean lengths of stay were not considered as a risk factor for readmissions within one month, even in frail, dependent, hospitalized elderly persons.

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