The study has as objective to identify the profile of the elderly internee in a general hospital of health public service, in Belém (Pará). It was a quantitative, retrospective and descriptive study. It was analyzed social-demographics variables, causes of hospitalization, time of stay, complications and dependence of nursing care in 160 record, 2001. The statistics analysis was made by an electronic program Epi-info 6.04. The results point: The age group was between 64-74 years old (43,1%), and (53,1%) was elderly of the male sex, the respiratory diseases were more prevalence (53,7 %), symptoms evidents were dyspnea, hyperthermia and hypertension, the time stay was 16 days. The hospitalization time look as a factor risk for disability, because the limitation of the bed, wound and other iatrogenics, it was a dependency of nursing care, and necessity of interdisciplinary interview.
Elderly; Nursing; Risk factors
