Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
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To identify the relationship between functional status and complicated clinical course in older adults in the emergency department (ED) with suspected infection and to identify other independent predictors of complicated clinical course. ⋯ For older adults admitted to the ED with infection, functional status did not predict complicated clinical course, but several other variables were predictive, including immunosuppression, several variables associated with hypoperfusion, and suspected bloodstream infection. Emergency physicians could consider these variables as potential indicators of complicated clinical course when making disposition decisions for this population.