Functional status and quality of life of geriatric patients with wounds in acute hospitals: A comparison between patients with acute and chronic wounds: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Geriatric patients are more predisposed to the occurrence of wounds due to age and disease, affecting functional status and quality of life. This aspect has rarely been researched in this population. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of chronic (cW) and acute wounds (aW) on the objective functional status and wound-related subjective quality of life in hospitalized geriatric patients. Methods: In this exploratory cross-sectional analysis, data from 41 patients with wounds were examined. Patients were participating and recruited in the TIGER study (n = 244). Depending on the type of wound, patients were assigned to the aW (n = 19) or cW (n = 22) group. The two groups were compared in terms of physical function, hand strength, activities of daily living, depression, cognition, nutrition, quality of life (Wound-QoL) and sociodemographic data. Results: There was a significant difference between the aW and cW groups in terms of gender (p = 0.045) and living conditions (p = 0.047). The type of wound was associated with the Barthel index (p = 0.010) and the Wound-QoL (p = 0.022). Conclusion: Compared to aW patients, cW patients were more limited in the physical and social dimensions and reported a lower quality of live. Living alone seems to play a relevant role. Among the patients of the TIGER study, men living alone were particularly more affected by cW. The care for these specific patients population should follow a holistic approach.