Predictors of clinical events occurring during hospital stay among elderly patients admitted to medical wards in Italy.

Abstract Background Clinical events occurring during hospital stay are independent predictors of prolonged hospitalization, in-hospital mortality and readmission among elderly patients admitted to medical wards. Purpose To identify predictors of intercurrent clinical events (ICE) during hospital stay among the main demographic, functional and clinical characteristics assessed at hospital admission in a multicenter sample of elderly inpatients in Italy. Methods This observational prospective cohort study was conducted in 66 internal and geriatric medicine hospital wards in 2010. It enrolled 1267 inpatients aged 65 years or older living at home before hospitalization. Multivariable Poisson re…