[Geriatric assessment--case finding by screening hospitalized patients]

The effectiveness of geriatric assessment depends on patient selection. A simple screening procedure should facilitate the detection of appropriate patients by recording functional impairments and geriatric risks. We studied the feasibility of, and the information from the screening, and the recommendations of assessments derived from the screening. The screening revealed an average of five findings in 245 of 247 patients consecutively admitted. The most frequent problems were impaired activities of daily living and mobility, and impaired memory. Geriatric assessment was recommended to 44% of newly hospitalized patients. These patients were older, with more of them living at home and alone, and nearly half of them had five or more findings in the screening with chronic problems being predominant. The screening procedure is feasible. It appears useful and reasonable to select patients for geriatric assessment while they are in hospital.