Age and ageing
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the National Service Framework for Older People requires every general hospital which cares for stroke patients to introduce a specialist stroke service by 2004. ⋯ significant development is needed to achieve the NSF target for hospital-based stroke services as few Trusts currently have all components in place and even when available not all stroke patients have access to specialist care. Stroke specialists will be required to run these services but training opportunities are currently limited. Stroke unit therapy staffing levels were lower than was available in randomised controlled trials.
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Proximal femur fracture in older patients--rehabilitation and clinical outcome.
hip fracture is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in older people; optimal post-surgical treatment is a matter of controversy. ⋯ based on our measured outcome variables institutional rehabilitation after surgical treatment of hip fracture apparently had no significant impact on mortality and morbidity in older patients of normal mental status.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Hospital re-admissions in relation to acute stroke unit care versus conventional care in elderly patients the first year after stroke: the Göteborg 70+ Stroke study.
re-hospitalisation after discharge following index stroke varies over time and with age and comorbidity. There is little knowledge about whether stroke unit care reduces the need of re-admissions. ⋯ re-admissions for conditions judged to be secondary to acute stroke were equal in the two groups in this prospective study.
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Hepatitis C virus infection-related cirrhosis is a major risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatocellular carcinoma in anti-hepatitis C virus positive cirrhotics shows an increasing prevalence with ageing, although it is not clear whether the age of the patients can be considered a critical factor in the overall assessment of severity of disease or in the choice of therapeutic procedures and prognosis. ⋯ Hepatocellular carcinoma appears in older anti-hepatitis C virus positive cirrhotic patients showing long duration of infection. Older age of the patients does not seem to influence therapeutic options, and more importantly does not exclude patients from treatment. Lastly, older patients seem to have better prognosis most likely due to hepatocellular carcinoma characteristics, since hepatocellular carcinoma seems to present with more unfavourable characteristics in younger cirrhotic patients.