If you become ill enough to be admitted to a hospital, you might be the one in three patients there at any given time who is likely to die within 12 months.
The likelihood of dying in hospital varies across countries but is generally high. David Clark, from the University of Glasgow (Scotland), and colleagues examined the age, health and treatment of 10,743 patients (64.1% ages 65 years or older; 54.7% women) in 25 hospitals across Scotland, identified on a single day. The data revealed that as many as 28.8% of patients were likely to die within 12 months of a hospital admission. Writing that: “Large numbers of hospital inpatients have entered the last year of their lives,” the study authors are hopeful that their analysis leads to further efforts to recognize when patients are nearing the end of their lives and their potential need for palliative care.
