Fever and Infection in Older Adult Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities

Target Population: Internists, geriatricians, long-term care practitioners, infectious disease practitioners

Type: Consensus statement, updating a report originally published in 2000

Key Points: Most long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are staffed very differently than acute care hospitals. LTCF caregivers are primarily nursing personnel — most often, certified nurse assistants — and physicians are rarely on site. Moreover, the benefits of extensive medical testing are often fewer for LTCF residents than for hospital patients. Therefore, clinical and laboratory assessment of patients with suspected infection is different in an LTCF than in an acute care facility. In particular, asse…