Observational studyAging clinical and experimental research2022
Frailty predicts failure to discharge patients home from a subacute-care unit: a 3-year Italian experience.
Observational study in Aging clinical and experimental research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of Frailty on Activities of Daily Living in Hospitalized Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2026Pooled it
- The impact of facility-based transitional care programs on function and discharge destination for older adults with cognitive impairment: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2022Pooled it
- Shaping older adults' care policy: a scoping review of key determinants in post-acute and community reintegration transitions.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Frailty as a risk-stratification tool in patients undergoing transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS).Journal of frailty, sarcopenia and falls · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe primary purpose of Subacute Care Units (SCU) is to decongest acute hospital wards and facilitate the return of older patients to home.
aimsWe analyzed the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted to an Italian SCU, and we explored factors associated with discharge to locations other than home (outcome).
methodsThis retrospective observational cohort study was conducted at a medium-sized suburban hospital, enrolling all patients consecutively admitted to one SCU from October 2017 to February 2020. We collected demographics, cause of admission, comorbidities, cognition, Barthel Index (BI), nutritional status, Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), length of stay, and discharge destination. Delirium was screened with the 4AT score. We adopted a multivariable conditional logistic regression model to identify the factors associated with the outcome.
resultsFrail subjects accounted for 58.6% of 406 patients (mean age 78.2 years, SD 11.6), while 61% were classified as functionally dependent. More than half of patients had relevant comorbidity, approximately 80% had a poor nutritional status, and 25% had pre-existing dementia. The overall prevalence of delirium was 14.5%. Most patients came from a hospital setting; recurrent reasons for admission were infections (70.5%) and heart failure (12.7%). Having a urinary bladder catheter at discharge, being overtly frail (CFS > 8), and low BI score were factors independently associated with not being discharged home. DISCUSSION AND
conclusionThe routine assessment of frailty, as expressed by the CFS, may help redirecting the patients eligible for SCU admission.
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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.