Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
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Comparative Study
Validation of the five-item geriatric depression scale in elderly subjects in three different settings.
To test the effectiveness of a five-item version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) for the screening of depression in community-dwelling older subjects, hospitalized older patients, and nursing home residents. ⋯ The five-item GDS is as effective as the 15-item GDS for the screening of depression in cognitively intact older subjects.
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To describe the occurrence of delirium in a cohort of older medical intensive care unit (ICU) patients and its short-term duration in the hospital and to determine the association between preexisting dementia and the occurrence of delirium. ⋯ Delirium is a frequent complication in older ICU patients and often persists beyond their ICU stay. Delirium in older ICU persons is a dynamic and complex process. Dementia is an important predisposing risk factor for the development of delirium in this population during and after the ICU stay.
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To determine whether a simple question about steadiness at admission predicts in-hospital functional decline and whether unsteadiness at admission predicts failure of in-hospital functional recovery of patients who have declined immediately before hospitalization. ⋯ A simple question about steadiness identified patients at increased risk for in-hospital ADL decline and, in patients who lost ADL function immediately before admission, failure to recover.