Clinical profile of elderly subjects hospitalized in a Tunisian center: Experience an internal medicine department

The impact of elderly people's demand for care is increasing, and therefore requires both the creation of geriatric units and their evaluation. We analyzed the records of 100 patients aged 65 and over, 52% of whom were classified as middle old, with an average age of 71. There were 52 men and 48 women, giving a sex ratio of 1.08. A quarter of our patients received free medical care. One or more progressive pathologies were found in 95% of cases: diabetes (70%), hypertension (65%), dyslipidemia (25%) and coronary artery disease (56%). This poly pathology is responsible for polymedication, with 95% of our patients receiving at least one medication. Reasons for hospitalization varied widely, and were dominated by advanced renal failure (52%), diabetes (34%) and altered general condition (12%). The average length of stay was 17 days. Certain geriatric features were noted in our patients. Undernutrition was reported in a quarter of cases. Almost half of our patients were not autonomous.