SynthesisBMC geriatrics2019
Early inpatient rehabilitation for acutely hospitalized older patients: a systematic review of outcome measures.
Synthesis in BMC geriatrics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Rehabilitation outcomes of older persons within the context of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF): a systematic review.European geriatric medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Early supported discharge for older adults admitted to hospital with medical complaints: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Effectiveness of community-based rehabilitation interventions incorporating outdoor mobility on ambulatory ability and falls-related self-efficacy after hip fracture: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Archives of osteoporosis · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Square-Stepping Exercise on cognitive function in early geriatric rehabilitation: A randomized controlled explorative study.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Biological sex as a tailoring variable for exercise prescription in hospitalized older adults.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2024Trial
- Square-stepping exercise in older inpatients in early geriatric rehabilitation. A randomized controlled pilot study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Trial
- The Effectiveness of Frailty Intervention for Older Patients with Frailty during Hospitalization.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2023Trial
- Functional Independence Measure assessed early after admission predicts home discharge in older adults admitted to acute general medical wards: a retrospective cohort study.Family medicine and community health · 2026Observational
- The impact of transitional care on geriatric rehabilitation outcomes: prevalence and associated factors of sarcopenia and malnutrition.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2026Observational
- Rehabilitation after pelvic fragility fracture in older adults: a scoping review.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2025Article
- Use of a Technology-Based Fall Prevention Program With Visual Feedback in the Setting of Early Geriatric Rehabilitation: Controlled and Nonrandomized Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Prognostic value of oxygen saturation index trajectory phenotypes on ICU mortality in mechanically ventilated patients: a multi-database retrospective cohort study.Journal of intensive care · 2023Article
- Diminished Physical Activity in Older Hospitalised Patients with and without COVID-19.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Early cardiac rehabilitation: could it improve functional outcomes and reduce length of stay and sanitary costs in patients aged 75 years or older? A retrospective case-control study.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2021Article
- Individual Responsiveness to Physical Exercise Intervention in Acutely Hospitalized Older Adults.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Article
- Why physical activity matters for older adults in a time of pandemic.European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2020Article
- Research on the care of people with dementia in acute care hospital settings : Opportunities, challenges and limitations.Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSelecting appropriate outcome measures for vulnerable, multimorbid, older patients with acute and chronic impairments poses specific challenges, which may have caused inconsistent findings of previous intervention trials on early inpatient rehabilitation in acutely hospitalized older patients. The aim of this review was to describe primary outcome measures that have been used in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on early rehabilitation in acutely hospitalized older patients, to analyze their matching, and to evaluate the effects of matching on the main findings of these RCTs.
methodsA systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, and PEDro databases. Additional studies were identified through reference and citation tracking. Inclusion criteria were: RCT, patients aged ≥65 years, admission to an acute hospital medical ward (but not to an intensive medical care unit), physical exercise intervention (also as part of multidisciplinary programs), and primary outcome measure during hospitalization. Two independent reviewers extracted the data, assessed the methodological quality, and analyzed the matching of primary outcome measures to the intervention, study sample, and setting. Main study findings were related to the results of the matching procedure.
resultsTwenty-eight articles reporting on 24 studies were included. A total of 33 different primary outcome measures were identified, which were grouped into six categories: functional status, mobility status, hospital outcomes, adverse clinical events, psychological status, and cognitive functioning. Outcome measures differed considerably within each category and showed a large heterogeneity in their matching to the intervention, study sample, and setting. Outcome measures that specifically matched the intervention contents were more likely to document intervention-induced benefits. Mobility instruments seemed to be the most sensitive outcome measures to reveal such benefits.
conclusionsThis review highlights that the selection of outcome measures has to be highly specific to the intervention contents as this is a key factor to reveal benefits attributable to early rehabilitation in acutely hospitalized older patients. Inappropriate selection of outcome measures may represent a major cause of inconsistent findings reported on the effectiveness of early rehabilitation in this setting.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42017063978 .
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.