| Older patients in the emergency department: a review. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20619500 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Older patients account for up to a quarter of all emergency department (ED) visits. Atypical clinical presentation of illness, a high prevalence of cognitive disorders, and the presence of multiple comorbidities complicate their evaluation and management. Increased frailty, delayed diagnosis, and greater illness severity contribute to a higher risk of adverse outcomes. This article will review the most common conditions encountered in older patients, including delirium, dementia, falls, and polypharmacy, and suggest simple and efficient strategies for their evaluation and management. It will discuss age-related changes in the signs and symptoms of acute coronary events, abdominal pain, and infection, examine the yield of different diagnostic approaches in this population, and list the underlying medical problems present in half of all "social" admission cases. Complete geriatric assessments are time consuming and beyond the scope of most EDs. We propose a strategy based on the targeting of high-risk patients and provide examples of simple and efficient tools that are appropriate for ED use. |
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Authors:
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Nikolaos Samaras; Thierry Chevalley; Dimitrios Samaras; Gabriel Gold |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Review |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Annals of emergency medicine Volume: 56 ISSN: 1097-6760 ISO Abbreviation: Ann Emerg Med Publication Date: 2010 Sep |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-08-23 Completed Date: 2010-09-29 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 8002646 Medline TA: Ann Emerg Med Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 261-9 Citation Subset: AIM; IM |
Copyright Information:
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Copyright (c) 2010 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved. |
Affiliation:
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Department of Community Medicine and Primary Care, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. nikolassamaras@hotmail.com |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Abdominal Pain
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diagnosis,
therapy Accidental Falls Aged* / statistics & numerical data Alcoholism / diagnosis, therapy Coronary Disease / diagnosis, therapy Elder Abuse Emergency Service, Hospital* / statistics & numerical data Humans Infection / diagnosis, therapy Mental Disorders / diagnosis, therapy Pharmaceutical Preparations / adverse effects Polypharmacy Risk Factors Substance-Related Disorders / diagnosis, therapy |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Pharmaceutical Preparations |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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