A prospective controlled trial of a geriatric consultation team in an acute-care hospital.

Attempts to prove the usefulness of geriatric consultation teams (GCT) in acute-care settings have been inconclusive. We have completed a prospective, controlled trial of a GCT in an acute-care setting, aiming our interventions at a specific subgroup of elderly patients. One hundred and thirty-two out of 352 (37.5%) patients met the inclusion criteria with 66 each being assigned to the intervention and the control groups. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. Patients in the intervention group received follow-up after discharge from hospital by the geriatric service. We found that the intervention was associated with improved 6-month survival (p less than 0.01), improved Barthel Index at 1 year (p less than 0.01), and a trend towards decreased reliance on institutional care (hospital or nursing home) during the year of follow-up. The benefits occurred principally in patients who were discharged to a nursing home. Our findings support the utility of GCT and highlight the importance of focusing the intervention and providing follow-up after discharge from hospital.