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Efficacy of the rehabilitation of elderly primary health care patients after short-stay hospital treatment
Melin AL, Bygren LO
Medical Care 1992 Nov;30(11):1004-1015
clinical trial
4/10 [Eligibility criteria: Yes; Random allocation: Yes; Concealed allocation: No; Baseline comparability: Yes; Blind subjects: No; Blind therapists: No; Blind assessors: No; Adequate follow-up: No; Intention-to-treat analysis: No; Between-group comparisons: Yes; Point estimates and variability: Yes. Note: Eligibility criteria item does not contribute to total score] *This score has been confirmed*

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a primary home care intervention program on patient outcomes after selected patients were discharged from a short-stay hospital. Random assignment of 249 frail, elderly patients was made to a group provided with physician-led primary home care, and home assistance service on a 24-hour basis, or to a control group given standard care. At randomization, patients were considerably disabled, had a mean age of 80.5 years, and had a high likelihood of long-stay hospital care. Medical and functional data were essentially the same at baseline for both groups. At 6-months follow-up, significant improvement in instrumental activities of daily living (p = 0.04) and outdoor walking (p = 0.03), and medical condition was found in the primary care intervention group compared with the controls and less utilization of long-stay hospital facilities was displayed in the team patients (p < 0.001) than in the controls. A selection of elderly, dependent patients can be cared for in their homes after short-stay hospital discharge and benefit from this primary home care intervention program in terms of improved medical and functional outcomes and less long-stay hospitalization.

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