A prospective study of 419 patients aged 70 and over admitted to acute medical wards was carried out by medical staff from a geriatric unit. Data Although these factors are interrelated, the most important influence on length of stay was the medical reason for admission. Early contact with the geriatric medical unit in these patients may speed up the recovery or result in more appropriate placement. IntroductionCurrent demographic trends predict a continuing increase in the number of old people during the next two decades at least. This will have implications for the hospital services as elderly people are admitted to hospital more often and stay longer than those in younger age groups.2 The average length of stay includes the length of stay of some patients who recover quickly and leave hospital without delay and that of a small number of patients who stay in hospital a long time, sometimes referred to as "bed blockers." 34 The attachment of geriatricians to acute medical wards results in a reduction of the mean length of stay of elderly patients.5 Despite an input of "geriatric" skills, such as multidisciplinary assessment, early planning of discharge arrangements, and familiarity with local resources, however, some patients will probably have a prolonged hospital stay. If these patients could be identified soon after admission the appropriate resources could be made available at an early stage to try to speed up their rehabilitation or find an appropriate alternative placement.To identify those factors that could predict a prolonged length of stay in hospital, a prospective study of consecutive patients aged 70 and over admitted to the general wards of a Belfast teaching hospital was carried out.

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period, hazard ratios were 1-26 (0.49 to 3.26) and 0*85 (0.41 to 1.79) respectively. For absence of a full confidant the figures were 093 (0-42 to 2.09) and 0-86 (0-38 to 1-93).Conclusion-These results give no support to the theory that psychosocial stress contributes to relapse of breast cancer.

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