Salem R, Devitt P, Johnson J, Firmin R
Br Med J. 1978 Aug 5;2(6134):416-7. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6134.416.
The emergency surgical work load created by patients aged 80 and over in a district hospital was assessed and the results of treatment examined. Over one year 248 patients aged 80 or over were admitted as emergencies, and the overall mortality rate was 21.8%. When terminal disease was excluded mortality rate was 12.5%. These elderly patients had an average length of stay in the acute surgical ward of 14.7 days compared with a mean of 8.4 days for all patients, and all but seven patients were discharged to their original place of referral.Elderly patients do exacerbate the bed shortage in acute surgical wards because they tend to stay longer than younger patients, but these elderly surgical patients imposed only a small load on the inpatient geriatric services, as 78% were discharged straight to their own homes and a further 17% went home after a period on the surgical convalescent wards.
对一家地区医院中80岁及以上患者所产生的急诊手术工作量进行了评估，并对治疗结果进行了检查。在一年多的时间里，有248名80岁及以上的患者作为急诊入院，总体死亡率为21.8%。排除终末期疾病后，死亡率为12.5%。这些老年患者在急性外科病房的平均住院时间为14.7天，而所有患者的平均住院时间为8.4天，除7名患者外，其余均出院回到原转诊地。老年患者确实加剧了急性外科病房的床位短缺，因为他们往往比年轻患者住院时间更长，但这些老年外科患者对老年住院服务的负担较小，因为78%的患者直接出院回家，另有17%的患者在外科康复病房住院一段时间后回家。
