A preliminary study of the hospital-admitted older patients in a Sri Lankan tertiary care hospital.

OBJECTIVE To provide reasons for admission, comorbidities, physical and psychosocial characteristics, and outcome of older patients admitted to hospital in Sri Lanka, and to assess adequacy of routine assessment. DESIGN Descriptive study. SETTING University Medical Unit, National Hospital of Sri Lanka during 10 weeks commencing August 2003. PATIENTS All > or = 65 years admitted to the unit, excluding transfers for specialised management and direct admissions by consultants or clinics; 75 men and 75 women. MEASUREMENTS Vision, hearing and speech, tests for tendency to fall, basic activities of daily living (BADL), mood and cognition, body mass index and waist circumference. RESULTS Seventy three per cent and 40% had cognitive dysfunction and depression., 20% required assistance in > or = 5/9 BADL, 23% had unprovoked falls within past year, and 57% had a tendency to fall, 34% had < or =6/60 vision. CONCLUSIONS Falls, depression, cognitive dysfunction and severe visual impairment were present in substantial proportions, unidentified by routine assessment of older patients.