Clinical trial NCT02062541: Effect of Functional Assessment and Immediate Rehabilitation of ED Admitted Elderly With Reduced Functional Performance
Official title: Effect of Functional Assessment and Immediate Rehabilitation of ED Admitted Elderly With Reduced Functional Performance
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Functionally-Impaired Elderly
Keywords: functional assessment
rehabilitation
cross-sectorial cooperation
Lead sponsor: University of Southern Denmark
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Sygehus Lillebaelt
First posted: 2014-02-13
Enrollment: 336
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 65
Standard ages: OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: FACTORIAL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: Background: Illness and hospitalisation, even of short duration, pose separate risks for permanently reduced functional performance in elderly medical patients. Functional assessment in the acute pathway will ensure early detection of declining performance and form the basis for mobilisation during hospitalisation and subsequent rehabilitation. For optimal results rehabilitation should begin immediately after discharge.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a systematic functional assessment in the emergency departments (ED) of elderly medical patients with reduced functional performance when combined with immediate post-discharge rehabilitation.

Method/design: The study is a two-way factorial randomised clinical trial. Participants will be recruited among patients admitted to the ED who are above 65 years of age with reduced functional performance. Patients will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) functional assessment and immediate rehabilitation; 2) functional assessment and usual rehabilitation; 3) usual assessment and immediate rehabilitation; 4) usual assessment and usual rehabilitation.

Primary outcome: 30-second chair-stand test administered at admission and two weeks after discharge.

We hypothesise that such assessment in the ED or/and immediate rehabilitation will result in sustained or improved performance in comparison to regimen in which neither of these interventions are offered.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* medical patients of 65 years of age or older admitted to the ED
* Can speak and understand Danish
* Resident in either of the two included municipalities
* Can report personal data and decide on consent
* Are able to sit on an chair and perform ≤ 9 repetitions at the 30-s. chair-stand test

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients suffering from a progressive neurological or cognitive deficit or disease.
* Patients ordinarily unable to walk

Primary outcomes:
measure: 30-second-chair-stand test
timeFrame: up to 14 days after admission date
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Kolding
country: Denmark
facility: Lillebaelt hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Southern Denmark
name: Christian B Mogensen, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Bruun IH, Norgaard B, Maribo T, Schiottz-Christensen B, Mogensen CB. The effect on physical performance of a functional assessment and immediate rehabilitation of acutely admitted elderly patients with reduced functional performance: the design of a randomised clinical trial. BMJ Open. 2014 Jun 17;4(6):e005252. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005252.