Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32819281›Full record

ArticleBMC family practice2020

Older persons are frailer after an emergency care visit to the out-of-hours general practitioner cooperative in the Netherlands: a cross-sectional descriptive TOPICS-MDS study.

Anneke Bloemhoff, Yvonne Schoon, Kien Smulders, Reinier Akkermans, Lilian C M Vloet, Karin van den Berg, Sivera A A Berben, TOPICS-MDS Consortium

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC family practice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 46% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Anneke BloemhoffEastern Regional Emergency Healthcare Network, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Anneke.Bloemhoff@azo.nl.ORCID 0000-0002-0712-1484
Yvonne SchoonDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Kien SmuldersGeneral Practitioners Cooperative Gelderse Vallei, Ede, The Netherlands.
Reinier AkkermansRadboud Institute for Health Sciences, IQ healthcare, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Lilian C M VloetResearch Department of Emergency and Critical Care, HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Karin van den BergEastern Regional Emergency Healthcare Network, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Sivera A A BerbenEastern Regional Emergency Healthcare Network, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
TOPICS-MDS Consortium
Radboud University Nijmegen · NLHAN University of Applied Sciences · NLDutch College of General Practitioners · NL

Funding

ZonMw 633400015
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn the Netherlands, community-dwelling older people with primary care emergency problems contact the General Practitioner Cooperative (GPC) after hours. However, frailty remains an often unobserved hazard with adverse health outcomes. The aim of this study was to provide insight into differences between older persons with or without GPC emergency care visits (reference group) regarding frailty and healthcare use.

methodsA cross-sectional descriptive study design was based on data from the public data repository of The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum Dataset (TOPICS-MDS). Frailty in older persons (65+ years, n = 32,149) was measured by comorbidity, functional and psychosocial aspects, quality of life and a frailty index. Furthermore, home care use and hospital admissions of older persons were identified. We performed multilevel logistic and linear regression analyses. A random intercept model was utilised to test differences between groups, and adjustment factors (confounders) were used in the multilevel analysis.

resultsCompared to the reference group, older persons with GPC contact were frailer in the domain of comorbidity (mean difference 0.52; 95% CI 0.47-0.57, p < 0.0001) and functional limitations (mean difference 0.53; 95% CI 0.46-0.60, p < 0.0001), and they reported less emotional wellbeing (mean difference - 4.10; 95% CI -4.59- -3.60, p < 0.0001) and experienced a lower quality of life (mean difference - 0.057; 95% CI -0.064- -0.050, p < 0.0001). Moreover, older persons more often reported limited social functioning (OR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.39-1.62, p < 0.0001) and limited perceived health (OR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.39-1.62, p < 0.0001). Finally, older persons with GPC contact more often used home care (OR = 1.37; 95% CI 1.28-1.47, p < 0.0001) or were more often admitted to the hospital (OR = 2.88; 95% CI 2.71-3.06, p < 0.0001).

conclusionsOlder persons with out-of-hours GPC contact for an emergency care visit were significantly frailer in all domains and more likely to use home care or to be admitted to the hospital compared to the reference group. Potentially frail older persons seemed to require adequate identification of frailty and support (e.g., advanced care planning) both before and after a contact with the out-of-hours GPC.

Indexed as

After-Hours CareEmergency Medical ServicesAgedAged, 80 and overCross-Sectional StudiesFrail ElderlyGeriatric AssessmentHumansNetherlandsQuality of LifeEmergency careFrailtyGeneral practitioners cooperativeOlder persons

Identifiers

PMID32819281
PMCPMC7441648
OpenAlexW3067967739

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.