A 10-min Targeted Geriatric Assessment Predicts Mortality in Fast-Paced Acute Care Settings: A Prospective Cohort...

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Public Health
• Clinical Epidemiology

Background:

• Predicting mortality in older adults in acute care is crucial for resource allocation and patient management.
• Existing tools may not be sufficiently accurate or efficient for busy clinical environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of the 10-minute Targeted Geriatric Assessment (10-TaGA) in predicting one-year mortality.
• To compare the predictive performance of 10-TaGA against sociodemographic factors, comorbidities, and the Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR) scale.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study was conducted with 751 older adults in a Brazilian geriatric day hospital.
• The 10-TaGA, ISAR scale, sociodemographics, and comorbidities were assessed upon admission.
• One-year mortality was the primary outcome, analyzed using Cox regression and receiver operating characteristic curves.

Main Results:

• 10-TaGA demonstrated superior accuracy (AUC 0.70) compared to ISAR (AUC 0.65) in predicting one-year mortality.
• Each 0.1 increment in the 10-TaGA score significantly increased mortality risk (HR 1.42).
• Adding 10-TaGA to a model with standard risk factors significantly improved predictive discrimination (AUC 0.76 vs 0.71).

Conclusions:

• The 10-TaGA is an independent and effective predictor of one-year mortality in older acute care patients.
• This multidimensional screening tool offers better accuracy than ISAR for risk stratification in time-constrained healthcare settings.