Evaluation of the effect of comorbidity indexes on length of stay and comprehensive geriatric assessment parameters in aged 60 years old

Objective: The aging world population and increasing frequency of chronic diseases create a great burden on individual and social basis. In our study, the relationship between different comorbidity indexes used for review this burden, lenght of stay and comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) parameters is evaluated. Method: The files of patients over 65 years old who were hospitalized in Dokuz Eylul University Hospital Geriatric Inpatient Unit between 1st January 2015 and 31st January 2019 were reviewed according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and 366 patients were included. Sociodemographics, laboratory findings and CGA were analyzed. Comorbidities were evaluated with Charlson Comorbidty Index (CCI), Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECM), Geriatric Index of Comorbidty (GIC) and Medicine Comorbidty Index (MCI). ECM and CCI scores divided into four groups and their relationship with CGA was examined. Results: Patients were 67,8% female and 32,3% male with a mean age of 76,2±7,25 years. The mean length of stay in geriatric ward was 5,69 (±2,49) days. The most common chron,k diseases were hypertension (%74,3), diabetes mellitus (%34,7), and dementia (%25,1). The mean CCI score was 2,39±1,85, mean ECM score was 3,65±6,63, mean GCI score was 2,12±0,69 and mean MCI score was 3,40±2,16. It is stated that CCI was correlated more parameters than others and dissimilarly ECM was correlated with MMSE. With analyzes by grouping according to index score, it is shown that there was no linear correlation between CGA scores and index scores. Conclusion: In our study that compares four comorbidity indexes, it is found that globally CCI was the most accurate in other indexes but it was not adequate enough to use in geriatric cases. Hence it seems necessary combination or modification of these indexes to make it appropriate to geriatric practice.