Description of the study population
| Site 1, n (%) | Site 2, n (%) | Site 3, n (%) | Site 4, n (%) | Site comparison, P value | Total | |
| Age | ||||||
| 65–74 years old | 61 (57) | 21 (32) | 38 (45) | 35 (42) | 0.001 | 155 (46) |
| 75–84 years old | 36 (34) | 23 (35) | 35 (42) | 29 (35) | 123 (36) | |
| ≥85 years old | 9 (9) | 21 (32) | 11 (13) | 19 (23) | 60 (18) | |
| Sex | ||||||
| Female | 53 (50) | 37 (57) | 39 (46) | 44 (53) | 0.618 | 173 (51) |
| CTAS | ||||||
| 1 and 2 | 39 (37) | 25 (38) | 25 (30) | 18 (22) | 0.076 | 107 (31.7) |
| 3 | 47 (44) | 28 (43) | 43 (51) | 37 (45) | 155 (45.9) | |
| 4 and 5 | 20 (19) | 12 (18) | 16 (19) | 28 (34) | 76 (22.5) | |
| Admission diagnostic | ||||||
| Medical | ||||||
| Cardiology | 15 (14.0) | 16 (21.9) | 23 (25.2) | 16 (18.0) | 70 (19.4) | |
| Pneumonology | 22 (20.6) | 15 (20.5) | 26 (28.6) | 12 (13.5) | 75 (20.8) | |
| Gastroenterology | 13 (12.1) | 7 (9.6) | 8 (8.8) | 17 (19.1) | 45 (12.5) | |
| Internal medicine | 6 (5.6) | 8 (11.0) | 7 (7.7) | 8 (9.0) | 29 (8.1) | |
| Neurology | 13 (12.1) | 7 (9.6) | 9 (9.9) | 10 (11.2) | 39 (10.8) | |
| Other | 28 (26.2) | 14 (19.2) | 14 (15.4) | 21 (23.6) | 77 (21.4) | |
| Surgical | ||||||
| Orthopaedics | 2 (1.9) | 6 (8.2) | 4 (4.4) | 5 (5.6) | 17 (4.7) | |
| General surgery | 5 (4.7) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 5 (1.4) | |
| Other | 3 (2.8) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.8) | |
| Time of day of presentation | ||||||
| 0:00–08:00 | 18 (16.5) | 12 (16.2) | 21 (22.1) | 5 (5.6) | 56 (15.3) | |
| 08:00–16:00 | 66 (60.6) | 34 (46.0) | 43 (45.3) | 54 (60.7) | 197 (53.7) | |
| 16:00–0:00 | 25 (22.9) | 28 (37.8) | 31 (32.6) | 30 (33.7) | 114 (31.0) | |
| OARS at baseline (mean±SD) | 26.33±1.98 | 26.41±2.20 | 25.95±2.60 | 24.92±2.41 | <0.001 | 25.91±2.36 |
| TICS-m at baseline (mean±SD)* | 30.36±5.68 | 31.88±4.69 | 29.37±5.92 | 26.81±6.70 | <0.001 | 29.53±6.08 |
| Charlson (mean±SD) | 1.93±1.78 | 1.65±1.69 | 3.13±2.48 | 1.81±1.55 | <0.001 | 2.14±1.99 |
| APACHE II (mean±SD) | 10.99±3.43 | 10.77±3.37 | 9.48±3.43 | 8.70±3.17 | <0.001 | 10.01±3.48 |
| Environmental factors | ||||||
| Proper lighting† | 65 (63) | 49 (75) | 71 (85) | 18 (22) | <0.001 | 203 (61) |
| Patient hydration | ||||||
| Fasting | 10 (10) | 8 (12) | 11 (13) | 16 (19) | 0.369 | 45 (14) |
| Glass of water within reach | 70 (72) | 55 (85) | 52 (65) | 71 (86) | 0.005 | 248 (76) |
| Presence of saliva‡ | 74 (76) | 52 (80) | 49 (60) | 9 (11) | <0.001 | 184 (56) |
| Any intravenous fluids | 75 (77) | 58 (89) | 78 (95) | 65 (78) | 0.003 | 276 (84) |
| Physical restraints (any)§ | 78 (77) | 30 (46) | 1 (1) | 65 (79) | <0.001 | 174 (53) |
| Medical interventions limiting movement | ||||||
| Bed rest | 1 (1) | 1 (2) | 5 (6) | 0 (0,0) | 0.071 | 7 (2) |
| Urinary catheter | 7 (8) | 5 (9) | 2 (2) | 2 (3) | 0.217 | 16 (6) |
| O2 | 15 (17) | 15 (26) | 22 (27) | 4 (6) | 0.007 | 56 (19) |
| Saline lock catheter or intravenous drip | 72 (84) | 53 (91) | 75 (92) | 57 (88) | 0.377 | 257 (88) |
| Other | 10 (12) | 8 (14) | 18 (22) | 6 (9) | 0.125 | 42 (14) |
| Temporal orientation aid¶ | 67 (63) | 45 (69) | 53 (63) | 37 (45) | 0.010 | 202 (60) |
↵*Adjusted for level of education.
↵†According to the RA.
↵‡RA verified if the patients had saliva under their tongue.
↵§Tablet, bed rails or other.
↵¶Clock, watch, cell phone, calendar.
APACHE II, Acute Physiological and Chronic Health Evaluation II; CTAS, Canadian Triage Assessment Scale; OARS, Older Americans Resources and Services; RA, research assistant; TICS-m, modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status.