GERIATRIC EMERGENCIES: A DISCUSSION-BASED REVIEW

1 General assessment of the elderly patient, 1
2 Physiologic changes with aging, 13
3 Functional assessment of the elderly, 28
4 Pharmacological issues in the elderly, 43
5 Altered mental status in the elderly, 58
6 Geriatric psychiatric emergencies, 71
7 Acute abdominal pain in the elderly: Surgical causes, 83
8 Nonsurgical abdominal pain in the elderly, 99
9 Back pain, 110
10 Headache, 123
11 Dyspnea in the elderly, 139
12 Acute chest pain in the geriatric patient, 152
13 Acute cardiac disease in elder patients, 168
14 Syncope in Geriatrics, 191
15 Stroke, 203
16 Infections, 218
17 Dizziness and vertigo in the geriatric population, 234
18 Weakness and functional decline, 252
19 Emergency department evaluation of falls in the elderly, 264
20 Trauma in the geriatric patient, 280
21 Surgical considerations in the elderly, 304
22 Oncologic emergencies, 321
23 Elder abuse and neglect, 351
24 Geriatric emergency pain management case, 363
25 Ethical issues and end-of-life care, 386
26 Geriatric dispositions and transitions of care, 394
27 The geriatric ED, 407

The elderly represent the fastest growing segment of the population in developed countries, reflected in the patient population presenting to EDs and hospitals. These patients more often than not have greater co-morbidities, more complicated workups and utilize more laboratory and radiologic services.

This text is designed to teach emergency physicians how best to care for this specific demographic of patients. It addresses physiologic changes, high-risk conditions, and atypical presentations associated with elderly patients in the ED that result in frequent misdiagnosis or delays in diagnosis. It instructs the readers how best to care for elderly patients in order to minimize morbidity and mortality, addressing some of the difficult psychosocial issues that confront health care providers that care for elderly patients, such as psychiatric disease and end-of-life care. The utility of this text is not limited to emergency physicians, but it should be useful to all health care providers involved in the treatment of elderly patients with acute medical or surgical conditions.