Characterization of elderly inpatient with acute respiratory disease in a tertiary medical school hospital

Abstract

Objective: To characterize the sociodemographic and clinic profiles and risk factors of elderlies hospitalized by acute respiratory disease (ARD) in Hospital de Base de São José do Rio Preto. Metodology: A quantitative, descriptive and retrospective study, with data collected through the analysis of 94 medical records of elderly inpatient, 60 years or older, hospitalized from August 2012 to September 2013 due to ARD. Results: This study identified that among 94 elderly inpatient with acute respiratory disease, major were men (n = 53), 76 years old or more (n = 52), white (n = 83), and had at least one risk factor for ARDs, such as smoking and/or bad nutrition. Most of the elderly over 75 years were dependent on daily life activities. Less than a half had cognitive deficit reported in their medical records, and most of them were more than 75 years old. More than 70% of the patients were discharged with improvement (n = 68), and more than half were 75 years old or less (n = 38). Among the 94 patients, 17 have died, being 88.2% over 75 years old (n = 15). After discharge, a small number of patients were referred to their Primary Care Unit (n = 11). Conclusions: The results of this study appoint to the importance of increasing care networks for elderly people affected by ARD, especially the oldiest, with risk factors, associated comorbidities, functional dependence and cognitive deficit, due to the high probability of bad prognosis. Training professionals at different levels of health care and creation of strategies to instruct the population about ARD are fundamental actions, in order to consolidate these care networks and, consequently, support prevention and early diagnosis, targeting the reduction of hospitalizations and mortality due to ARD.