Revista española de geriatría y gerontología
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Rev Esp Geriatr Gerontol · May 2008
Comparative Study[Functional decline during hospitalization in elderly patients. Benefits of admission to the geriatrics service].
In some elderly individuals, hospital admission for acute illness represents a possible loss of autonomy not always related to the reason for hospitalization. The importance of this problem and the possible existence of differences among services are not sufficiently well known. ⋯ Functional decline during hospitalization for acute diseases is frequent among frail patients. Many modifiable clinical practices are associated with this complication. In patients at risk of delirium, admission to geriatric wards may be associated with less functional deterioration than admission to internal medicine wards.