[Examination of acute disease in the long-term geriatric ward]

We investigated the acute disorder in cases at the long-term geriatric ward. Fifty seven patients were admitted to the hospital during the period of October 2002 to March 2005. In our study, the following items were analyzed: (1) the number of admission, (2) diagnosis, (3) the duration of hospital stay, and (4) the cause of death. The admission of respiratory disease patients, such as pneumonia, bronchitis and pleuritis, were most frequent and had the longest term of hospitalization. We also found that patients with respiratory disease had undergone percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), and their hospitalization was relatively shorter.