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Is comprehensive geriatric assessment admission avoidance hospital at home an alternative to hospital admission for older persons? A randomized trial

Abstract:

Background:

Delivering hospital-level care with comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in the home is one approach to deal with the increased demand for bed-based hospital care, but clinical effectiveness is uncertain.

Objective:

To assess the clinical effectiveness of admission avoidance hospital at home (HAH) with CGA for older persons.

Design:

Multisite randomized trial. (ISRCTN registry number: ISRCTN60477865)

Setting:

9 hospital and community sites in the United Kingdom.

Patients:

1055 older persons who were medically unwell, were physiologically stable, and were referred for a hospital admission.

Intervention:

Admission avoidance HAH with CGA versus hospital admission with CGA when available using 2:1 randomization.

Measurements:

The primary outcome of living at home was measured at 6 months. Secondary outcomes were new admission to long-term residential care, death, health status, delirium, and patient satisfaction.

Results:

Participants had a mean age of 83.3 years (SD, 7.0). At 6-month follow-up, 528 of 672 (78.6%) participants in the CGA HAH group versus 247 of 328 (75.3%) participants in the hospital group were living at home (relative risk [RR], 1.05 [95% CI, 0.95 to 1.15]; P = 0.36); 114 of 673 (16.9%) versus 58 of 328 (17.7%) had died (RR, 0.98 [CI, 0.65 to 1.47]; P = 0.92); and 37 of 646 (5.7%) versus 27 of 311 (8.7%) were in long-term residential care (RR, 0.58 [CI, 0.45 to 0.76]; P < 0.001).

Limitation:

The findings are most applicable to older persons referred from a hospital short-stay acute medical assessment unit; episodes of delirium may have been undetected.

Conclusion:

Admission avoidance HAH with CGA led to similar outcomes as hospital admission in the proportion of older persons living at home as well as a decrease in admissions to long-term residential care at 6 months. This type of service can provide an alternative to hospitalization for selected older persons.

Primary Funding Source:

The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme (12/209/66).
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.7326/m20-5688

Authors

More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Nuffield Department of Population Health
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0001-6384-8322
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Primary Care Health Sciences
Oxford college:
Trinity College
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-0102-3453
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Nuffield Department of Population Health
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-5772-9666
More by this author
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0003-2982-9245
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MSD
Department:
Nuffield Department of Population Health
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0003-0239-7278


Publisher:
American College of Physicians
Journal:
Annals of Internal Medicine More from this journal
Volume:
174
Issue:
7
Pages:
889–898
Place of publication:
United States
Publication date:
2021-04-20
Acceptance date:
2021-02-26
DOI:
EISSN:
1539-3704
ISSN:
0003-4819
Pmid:
33872045


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
1173062
Local pid:
pubs:1173062
Deposit date:
2021-04-27
ARK identifier:

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