Prevalence of Geriatric Syndromes and the Need for Hospice Care in Older Patients of the Emergency Department: A Study in an Asian Medical Center

Table 3

Prevalence of geriatric syndromes and needs for hospice care based on EGA classified by three age groups.

Variable	Total (n = 693)	Young elderly, 65–74 years (n = 259)	Moderately elderly, 75–84 years (n = 259)	Old elderly, ≥85 years (n = 175)	value	value for trend
Delirium	73 (11.4)	12 (4.8)	24 (10.0)	37 (24.8)	<0.01	<0.01
Depression	133 (23.4)	53 (22.1)	48 (22.2)	32 (28.6)	0.36	0.24
Dementia	248 (43.1)	61 (25.4)	112 (51.4)	75 (64.1)	<0.01	<0.01
Deterioration of ADL <1 year^†	200 (29.4)	45 (17.8)	76 (29.6)	79 (46.2)	<0.01	<0.01
Feeding	92 (13.3)	11 (4.3)	30 (11.6)	51 (29.3)	<0.01	<0.01
Hygiene	133 (19.2)	26 (10.0)	50 (19.3)	57 (32.8)	<0.01	<0.01
Dressing	106 (15.3)	18 (7.0)	32 (12.4)	56 (32.2)	<0.01	<0.01
Transferring	92 (13.3)	12 (4.6)	32 (12.4)	48 (27.6)	<0.01	<0.01
Walking	142 (20.5)	29 (11.2)	55 (21.2)	58 (33.3)	<0.01	<0.01
Toileting	111 (16.0)	15 (5.8)	38 (14.7)	58 (33.3)	<0.01	<0.01
Bathing	140 (20.2)	25 (9.7)	50 (19.3)	65 (37.4)	<0.01	<0.01
Vision impairment affecting ADL	143 (22.2)	35 (13.8)	50 (20.8)	58 (38.9)	<0.01	<0.01
Hearing impairment affecting ADL	153 (23.8)	28 (11.0)	59 (24.7)	66 (44.3)	<0.01	<0.01
Sleep disturbances affecting ADL	90 (13.1)	45 (17.5)	26 (10.1)	19 (11.1)	0.03	0.03
Any fall <1 year	149 (21.8)	40 (15.6)	62 (24.1)	47 (27.5)	<0.01	<0.01
Polypharmacy (≥8 drugs)	198 (28.7)	81 (31.4)	66 (25.5)	51 (29.7)	0.32	0.57
Pain	220 (35.1)	84 (33.7)	84 (36.1)	52 (35.9)	0.85	0.63
Pressure ulcer	39 (5.6)	6 (2.3)	15 (5.8)	18 (10.3)	<0.01	<0.01
Incontinence or retention	205 (29.6)	39 (15.1)	78 (30.1)	88 (50.6)	<0.01	<0.01
Indwelling device or physical restrain^†	149 (21.6)	36 (13.9)	59 (22.8)	54 (31.2)	<0.01	<0.01
Nasogastric tube	81 (11.7)	19 (7.3)	32 (12.4)	30 (17.2)	<0.01	<0.01
Foley	98 (14.2)	18 (7.0)	41 (15.8)	39 (22.4)	<0.01	<0.01
Tracheostomy	6 (0.9)	3 (1.2)	1 (0.4)	2 (1.2)	0.66	0.89
Physical restrain	5 (0.7)	0 (0.0)	0 (0.0)	5 (2.9)	<0.01	<0.01
Other	14 (2.0)	7 (2.7)	6 (2.3)	1 (0.6)	0.28	0.14
Nutrition problem^‡	237 (35.7)	86 (34.0)	86 (34.4)	65 (40.4)	0.36	0.22
BMI	22.9 ± 4.1	23.8 ± 4.3	22.6 ± 3.9	21.9 ± 3.8	<0.01	<0.01
Frequent use of medical resource	347 (50.1)	120 (46.3)	126 (48.7)	101 (58.1)	<0.05	0.02
Lack of advance care planning	581 (84.0)	227 (87.6)	227 (87.6)	127 (73.0)	<0.01	<0.01
Caregiver problem	32 (4.6)	19 (7.3)	10 (3.9)	3 (1.7)	0.02	<0.01
Socioeconomic problem†	38 (5.5)	16 (6.2)	15 (5.8)	7 (4.1)	0.61	0.36
Live alone	31 (4.5)	13 (5.0)	13 (5.0)	5 (2.9)	0.50	0.32
Economic problem	10 (1.5)	5 (1.9)	3 (1.2)	2 (1.2)	0.72	0.47
Need for family meeting	43 (6.2)	9 (3.5)	14 (5.4)	20 (11.5)	<0.01	<0.01
Need for hospice care	82 (11.9)	16 (6.2)	31 (12.1)	35 (20.2)	<0.01	<0.01
Estimated life period <6 months	26 (3.8)	7 (2.7)	6 (2.3)	13 (7.5)	0.01	0.02
Need for comfortable care only	26 (3.8)	7 (2.7)	8 (3.1)	11 (6.3)	0.12	0.07
Long-term bedridden^¶	82 (11.9)	15 (5.8)	31 (12.0)	36 (20.7)	<0.01	<0.01

Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation or n (%). EGA, emergency geriatric assessment; ADL, activities of daily living; BMI, body mass index. Comparison among three age groups. ^†Multiple choices. ^‡Any of the following: BMI ≤18.5, BMI ≥27, BWL 5% <1 month or BWL 10% <6 months, dysphagia or poor appetite in recent 2 weeks, or difficulty of swallowing or intake. ^¶Long-term bedridden >3 months, recurrent infection, and significant cognitive impairment.