An increase in elderly cancer patients is expected over the coming 20 years due to an increasing elderly population. Healthcare providers need to focus on developing specific strategies for treatment of elderly cancer patients in the future.

IntroductionHospital readmission is a burden to patients, relatives and society. Older patients with frailty are at highest risk of readmission and its negative outcomes.ObjectiveWe aimed at examining whether follow-up visits by an outgoing multidisciplinary geriatric team (OGT) reduces unplanned hospital readmission in patients discharged to a skilled nursing facility (SNF).DesignA retrospective single-centre before-and-after cohort study.Setting and participantsStudy population included all hospitalised patients discharged from a Danish geriatric department to an SNF during 1 January 2016–25 February 2020. To address potential changes in discharge and readmission patterns during the study period, patients discharged from the same geriatric department to own home were also assessed.InterventionOGT visits at SNF within 7 days following discharge. Patients discharged to SNF before 12 March 2018 did not receive OGT (−OGT). Patients discharged to SNF on or after 12 March 2018 received the intervention (+OGT).Main outcome measuresUnplanned hospital readmission between 4 hours and 30 days following initial discharge.ResultsTotally 847 patients were included (440 −OGT; 407 +OGT). No differences were seen between the two groups regarding age, sex, activities of daily living (ADLs), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) or 30-day mortality. The cumulative incidence of readmission was 39.8% (95% CI 35.2% to 44.8%, n=162) in −OGT and 30.2% (95% CI 25.8% to 35.2%, n=113) in +OGT. The unadjusted risk (HR (95% CI)) of readmission was 0.68 (0.54 to 0.87, p=0.002) in +OGT compared with –OGT, and remained significantly lower (0.72 (0.57 to 0.93, p=0.011)) adjusting for age, length of stay, sex, ADL and CCI. For patients discharged to own home the risk of readmission remained unchanged during the study period.ConclusionFollow-up visits by OGT to patients discharged to temporary care at an SNF significantly reduced 30-day readmission in older patients.

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to the development of preventive interventions reducing the incidence of falls among older people. To the best of our knowledge, no study has compared the functioning and disability status in older people with and without falls history. The aim of this observational case-control study was Abstract Objectives: There is a lack of knowledge about how falls are associated with the older person's physical, mental, and social functioning which would help find effective methods for identifying rehabilitation needs in the older population to ensure appropriate follow-up. The aim was to investigate and compare functioning in women with and without a falls history. Methods: This was an observational case-control study. Study participants were fallers aged ≥65 years recruited consecutively from a hospital; age matched randomly selected community controls (fallers without contact with the healthcare system due to falls and non-fallers). Fallers were classified as once only fallers and recurrent fallers. Results: The sample constituted a group of older women with and without a falls history; 117 fallers from the Falls Clinic, and 99 fallers and 106 non-fallers community controls, median age 80 years. Both fallers from the clinic and the community had significantly lower functioning compared to non-fallers in all three domains. Recurrent fallers had poorer functioning compared to once only fallers. Conclusion: This study contributes to knowledge about older people's functioning and disability in conjunction with a high fall-risk and highlights the importance of rehabilitation and prevention strategies that focus on early identification of disability in the older population regardless of falls history.