A New Paradigm for Clinical Investigation of Infectious Syndromes in Older Adults: Assessment of Functional Status as a Risk Factor and Outcome Measure

Adults aged >or=65 years comprise the fastest-growing segment of the United States population, and older adults experience greater morbidity and mortality due to infection than do young adults. Although age is well established as a risk factor for infection, most clinical investigations of infectious diseases in older adults focus on microbiology and on crude end points of clinical success, such as cure rates or death; however, they often fail …