Introduction:

Population aging is a global phenomenon, with implications in health services. The present study aims to analyse outcome predictors in elderly patients admitted to the internal medicine (IM) service.

Methods:

Observational, retrospective, longitudinal study.

Medical records of patients 65 or more years old admitted to the IM service of Hospital Garcia de Orta (HGO), Portugal, in the year 2019 were analysed.

Results:

In 2019 the HGO’s IM service admitted 2841 patients: 532 (18.7%) were less than 65 years old and 2309 (81.3%) were 65 years old or older. In the statistical analyses 2133 patients were included, with a mean age of 80.0 ± 7.8 years. Female gender represented 54.7% of the sample size. Mean number of comorbidities per patient was 6.1 ± 2.8, and 54.8% were considered frail. Frail patients were at higher risk of death in hospital (RR = 3.1) and after discharge (RR = 2), even after adjustment for confounders.

Conclusion:

The population admitted to IM services is mainly elderly with variable degrees of multimorbidity and frailty. frailty seems to be a major predictor of readmission and death in this population. Given the heterogenicity of this age group, multidimensional evaluations and individualized care plans are mandatory.

It is urgent that Portuguese IM services adapt to the care of elderly patients, with a strong investment in interdisciplinary care focused on quality of life. Education in geriatric medicine should be a priority to IM teams.

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