The fate of elderly patients discharged from the accident and emergency department of a general teaching hospital.

This paper describes the experience of a cohort of elderly patients who were discharged after attending the accident and emergency department of a large Australian teaching hospital. Before-and-after comparisons of aspects of physical functioning revealed a considerable loss of independence in the period immediately after the visit to the hospital. Subsequent hospital admission or death was observed in 30 of the 90 patients studied. It is suggested that elderly patients discharged from the accident and emergency department are at risk and require special consideration and a high index of suspicion in terms of evaluation at the time of presentation. Before discharge, account should be taken of aspects of physical and mental function, social networks, and community supports available to each patient. A lowered threshold for admission is recommended on the basis of the high rate of return found in this study.