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	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

We read with interest the report by Perneger et al¹ regarding risk factors for medically inappropriate admissions to a Swiss department of internal medicine. Of the 76 patients whose admissions were deemed inappropriate, 53 were admitted for a diagnostic workup. Reasons for admission of the remaining 23 patients were not given, but because the receipt of informal care was an important risk factor in the logistic regression model, we assume that many of these admissions were for caregiver strain, or what is sometimes called a "social admission."

As pointed out by Perneger et al, these admissions for caregiver strain are sometimes unavoidable. Although it is desirable to provide respite care in the home, or at any rate not in the acute care setting, this is sometimes not possible. Emergency respite care is often particularly inaccessible, leading to admission to the hospital, and all the complications that may ensue.² The founders . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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