BMJ 2001;322:1491 ( 16 June )

Letters

Assessment of grouping variable should have been blind in trial of dementia

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Huusko et al studied the effect of intensive geriatric rehabilitation on dementia patients with hip fracture.1 The reported study was probably the first randomised study with predetermined subgroup analysis according to the degree of dementia in this growing patient group. The degree of dementia was classified by the score on the minimental state examination.2 The median length of hospital stay of patients with hip fracture who had moderate dementia was 47 days in the intervention group and 147 days in the control group (P=0.04). The corresponding values for patients with mild dementia were 29 days in the intervention group and 46.5 days in the control group (P=0.002).

Huusko et al concluded that patients with hip fracture and mild or moderate dementia can often return to the community if they are provided with active geriatric rehabilitation. Pioneering work is never easy. Even though the study seemed to be well conducted, the patients . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Randomised, clinically controlled trial of intensive geriatric rehabilitation in patients with hip fracture: subgroup analysis of patients with dementia
Tiina M Huusko, Pertti Karppi, Veikko Avikainen, Hannu Kautiainen, and Raimo Sulkava
BMJ 2000 321: 1107-1111. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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