In the US, it is estimated that the number of Americans over the age of 65 will double
from roughly 50 million at present to 100 million by 2060 [
[1]
]. As the age and size of this group increases, the appropriateness, effectiveness,
cost, and outcome of emergency medical care provided to them will be of special concern.
Older patients are often more acutely ill than younger patients, many times requiring
longer hospital stays with greater risk of readmission upon discharge [
[2]
,
[3]
]. There are risk factors plaguing the elderly that may contribute to increased utilization
of the Emergency Department (ED). These factors include but are not limited to depression,
poor self-care, falls, poor memory, the potential for abuse, polypharmacy, and having
a fixed or limited income [
[4]
,
[5]
]. Along with treatment, the ED is an excellent place to introduce secondary prevention.
It is a place where elderly persons who have functional, cognitive, and social impairments
may be identified and linked to appropriate services for further evaluation and management.
The aims of this study were to: 1) identify key social problems among the elderly
as they present to an ED; 2) compare the epidemiology, assessment and treatment patterns
with results from a similar study performed at this institution in 1989 [
[6]
].Keywords
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References
- Aging populations will challenge healthcare systems all over the world. Forbes.
- Emergency department utilization by older adults: a descriptive study.Can Geriatr J. 2014; 17: 118-125
- A systematic review of the identification of seniors at risk (ISAR) tool for the prediction of adverse outcome in elderly patients seen in the emergency department.Int J Clin Exp Med. 2015; 8: 4778-4786
- Patient-reported geriatric symptoms as risk factors for hospitalization and emergency department visits.Aging Dis. 2015; 6: 188-195
- Psychiatric emergencies in older adults.in: Hategan A. Bourgeois J. Hirsch C. Giroux C. Geriatric psychiatry. Springer, Cham2018: 595-616
- Social emergencies in the elderly.Ann Emerg Med. 1992; 21: 459
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- Transforming emergency care for older adults.Health Aff. 2013; 32: 2116-2121
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: May 24, 2018
Accepted:
May 24,
2018
Received:
May 22,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
