A four item scale based on gait for the immediate global assessment of acutely ill medical patients - One look is more than 1000 words

摘要

Background: Documentation of the global assessment of acutely ill medical patients is time consuming and may detract from patient care. Setting: Small Irish rural hospital. Methods: The clinical information required for the global assessment of 2954 patients attending the Medical Assessment Unit in a small rural hospital was collected for analysis in a computer database. Results: A four item scale based on whether the patients had a Stable gait, Unstable gait, needed Help to walk or was Bedridden (i.e. SUHB scale) was strongly correlated with 30-day in-hospital mortality, mental status, history of falls, manual handling requirements, and the presence of pressure sores, dementia and incontinence. The c statistics of the SUHB scale for 30-day in-hospital mortality, mental status, history of falls, manual handling requirements, and the presence of pressure sores, dementia and incontinence were 0.85, 0.79, 0.79, 0.94, 0.80, 0.86 and 0.88, respectively. Conclusion: A four item scale of gait instantly captures almost as much information as detailed documentation.