The influence of route of admission on outcome in the geriatric patient.

Differences in the rates of discharge and death and length of stay are examined for 2433 elderly patients admitted to a geriatric department by different routes. Highly significant differences are found which persist even when full allowance is made for variations in age, sex, mental test score, domicile, number of admissions, wait for admission, dehydration and constitutional upset. However, if an estimate of length of stay are no longer significant. This suggests that the residual effects of route of admission even when the other factors were allowed for may be due to diagnostic differences.