Table 1: Characteristics of the patients included in the study.
| Variable | Baseline | Intervention period | ||
| Age year | n = 247 | Phase I | Phase II | |
| n = 498 | n = 574 | |||
| 64 (SD19.5) | 67 (SD 18.5) | 69 (SD 16.6) | ||
| Sex | n (%) | |||
| male | 143 (48%) | 151 (36%) | 259 (42%) | |
| female | 153 (52%) | 269 (64%) | 354 (58%) | |
| Acute surgery | n % | 100 (34%) | 125 (30%) | 206 (34%) |
| Elective surgery | 105 (35%) | 155 (37%) | 242 (39%) | |
| Acute illness, not surgery | 91 (31%) | 140 (33%) | 165 (27 %) | |