Assessing the degree of dependence of patients aged over 75 admitted to the trauma unit

Abstract

Ageing of the population has been one of the most important social transformations in the last third of the twentieth century. A reality associated with ageing is that the number of dependent people increases with age. As a result, there is increased demand for care in chronic and degenerative processes.

We conducted a cross sectional study which aimed to measure the degree of dependency of patients that were admitted to the orthopaedic surgery/ Trauma Unit , General Yagüe Hospital in Burgos when the patient was older than 75 years. We observed dependence when leaving the hospital with medical discharge. Data collection was from January to June 2009
To value the functional dependence we used Barthel's Index. In addition, we gathered epidemiological variables, the medical precedents and the information about the admission. We used the clinical history and the information obtained from our health care assistance.
We performed an analysis of the data, and used an SPSS statistical package. The findings show that age and degree of dependence when the patient is discharged is significant, with same behaviour being appreciated with other variables. In the case of fractures, the evolution is positive in the Barthel Index, osteoarthritis is negative and there were no changes in other pathologies (dislocations, infections...)
Healthcare professionals should provide quality care through our clinical and teaching work, and thus improve the patient's living habits and encourage their independence. Our study is useful if we apply care from the patient being admitted through to discharge in coordination with other levels of care.