Geriatric care

Unit

Clinical activity

The Geriatrics Unit deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of acute and degenerative pathologies of older people, in order to treat acute conditions and minimize their impact on physical and mental function, and to prevent or slow down functional and mental decline, while maintaining self-sufficiency and the best possible quality of life.

The Geriatric Unit provides geriatric visits and assessment of the patient's degree of disability in the outpatient setting. It works in close collaboration with several medical and surgical Units, thus ensuring an integrated diagnostic and therapeutic pathway.

It includes the following specialty outpatients clinics:

  • Pneumology outpatient clinic (respiratory function tests, sleep medicine, polysomnographic diagnostics and non-invasive assisted ventilation programmes, therapeutic diagnostic bronchoscopy, polysomnography at home)
  • Syncope and cardiology diagnostics clinic
  • Osteoporosis clinic
  • Wound treatment clinic
  • Angiology unit

It also include an acute care ward with a specialised nursing staff for the treatment of acute condition and a respiratory subintensive care unit equipped for non-invasive ventilation and other advanced respiratory treatments.

Research fields

  • Multidimensional evaluation (VMD) of the older person (clinical, psychological, social and functional state)
  • Geriatric pharmacoepidemiology
  • Pneumology in elderly patients: respiratory effects of metabolic pathologies; assessment of respiratory function; effect of body composition on response to respiratory rehabilitation in the patient with COPD; relationship between COPD and cardiovascular diseases
  • Telemedicine: monitoring systems for patients with COPD, heart disease and diabetes mellitus
  • Computer models for health care and continuity of care
  • Innovative multisensor assessment of chronic diseases
  • Frailty and sarcopenia
  • The aging kidney
  • Infectious diseases in the elderly: new diagnostics

Clinical and research collaboration

  • Centre of Medicine for the Ageing, Agostino Gemelli University Hospital, Rome
  • Curt-Engelhorn-Chair of Clinical Pharmacology, Heidelberg, Germany
  • Geriatric Clinic, University of Barcelona, Spain
  • Pneumology unit, Maastricht, Holland
  • National Institute of Hospitalisation and Care for the Elderly (INRCA), Cosenza
  • University of Palermo
  • University of Florida, Gainsville (USA)
  • National Institute of Health, Pneumology Unit, Bethesda (USA)
  • Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, sedi di Palermo e Padova