Impact of an early geriatric rehabilitation program in acutely hospitalised vulnerable patients: a real-life study in an ACE unit in Switzerland.

Introduction: Early geriatric rehabilitation programs are potential means to prevent acute hospitalisation-associated functional decline.

Methods: The objectives were to measure the impact of an interdisciplinary rehabilitation program on patients' administrative in hospital data and on functional trajectories. With a before-and-after design, we compared all patients admitted from January to August 2018 into the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit of an Academic hospital in Switzerland who received this type of program to those admitted during the same period in 2016 and 2017. We considered vulnerable patients aged 75 or older. Functional independency level was assessed at baseline, admission, and discharge according to Katz's basic activities daily living (BADL).

Results: In total, 378/1,073 patients (mean age 86.6 ± 6.4; 74.6% women; 84% admitted from the emergency department) were prospectively admitted into the ACE unit in 2018. With an adherence rate of 74.0% to functional therapies and compared to the prior years, the program reduced transfers to rehabilitation settings (28.5 vs. 24.3%, p=0.04) and increased direct discharges to home (46.8 vs. 42.4%, p=0.04). Rates of early-unplanned readmission were similar. Between admission to discharge, 89.9% of the patients engaged in the program remained functionally stable or enhanced. Whatever the BADL score at the admission, 46.5% improved their status for at least one BADL. Even though no clinical determinant was identified, patients who engaged ≥ 5 sessions of functional therapy per week were more likely to improve their functional level (OR = 3.05; 95% CI 1.76-5.27).

Conclusion: This real-life study demonstrates arguments to implement early interdisciplinary rehabilitation program in ACE units in particular to prevent functional decline in vulnerable patients. These findings support consideration regarding the interest of switching from the traditional disease-centred approach in acute care for older patients to a modern one, that also put the emphasis on maintaining functional capacities.