Abstract
Functional assessment identifies older patients with infections who are at risk for functional decline, it provides clues that infection is worsening, and it predicts outcomes of mortality and discharge location.
Clinical trials that included elderly patients with infections show that functional assessment, when combined with multifactorial interventions, prevents functional decline in hospitalized patients.
Delirium is a common complication of infections and is predictable, recognizable, and potentially preventable.
Validated screening tools and scales facilitate the assessment of physical and cognitive functioning of older patients.
As physical functioning is vital to the quality of life of older patients, and, for all older patients with infections, a brief functional assessment is recommended.
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High, K.P., Bradley, S., Loeb, M., Palmer, R., Quagliarello, V., & Yoshikawa, T. (2005). A new paradigm for clinical investigation of infectious syndromes in older adults: Assessing functional status as a risk factor and outcome measure. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 40, 114–122.
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© 2009 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Palmer, R.M. (2009). Role and Importance of Functional Assessment in Infections. In: Norman, D., Yoshikawa, T. (eds) Infectious Disease in the Aging. Infectious Disease. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-534-7_4
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