Abdominal Pain in the Geriatric Patient - 30/07/16

Doi : 10.1016/j.emc.2016.04.008

Phillip D. Magidson, MD, MPH ^a,^b, Joseph P. Martinez, MD ^c,^d,^⁎
^a Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center, 6th Floor, Suite 200, 110 South Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
^b Department of Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center, 6th Floor, Suite 200, 110 South Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
^c Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 6th Floor, Suite 200, 110 South Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
^d Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 6th Floor, Suite 200, 110 South Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA

^∗Corresponding author. Departments of Emergency Medicine and Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 6th Floor, Suite 200, 110 South Paca Street, Baltimore, MD.Departments of Emergency Medicine and MedicineUniversity of Maryland School of Medicine6th FloorSuite 200110 South Paca StreetBaltimoreMD

Résumé

With an aging population, emergency department clinicians can expect an increase in geriatric patients presenting with abdominal pain. Compared with younger patients, this patient population is less likely to present with classic symptoms, physical examination findings, and laboratory values of abdominal disease. However, the morbidity and mortality associated with elderly patients presenting with abdominal pathologic conditions are significant. For this reason, the clinician must be familiar with some subtle and not so subtle differences when caring for the geriatric patient with abdominal pain to ensure timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

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Keywords : Geriatrics, Abdominal pain, Elderly, Emergency