Geriatric Emergency Medicine Principles and Practice

As the global geriatric population continues to grow, an increasing proportion of people reporting to emergency departments are elderly. The work-up of these patients uses more time and resources than that of younger patients, and is complicated by the fact that acute disease often presents more subtly, without the outward manifestations typically seen in younger patients. This volume focuses on the unique pathophysiology of the elderly, presenting guidelines for resuscitation, evaluation and management. The first section discusses general principles including demographics, pharmacology and pain management. The following sections cover high-risk chief presenting complaints and review geriatric emergencies. Finally, topics of particular relevance in the geriatric population are discussed, including functional assessment, end-of-life care, financial considerations and abuse. This book provides a comprehensive, practical framework for community and academic emergency medicine practitioners, as well as emergency department administrators striving to improve delivery of care to this vulnerable, growing population.

Preface; Part I. General Principles: 1. Overview of geriatric emergency medicine Jolion McGreevy and Joseph H. Kahn; 2. The geriatric emergency department Mark Rosenberg and Lynne Rosenberg; 3. General approach to the geriatric patient Suzanne Michelle Rhodes and Arthur B. Sanders; 4. Resuscitation of the elderly Aneesh T. Narang and Rishi Sikka; 5. Pharmacology in the elderly Michelle Blanda; 6. Generalized weakness in the elderly (Mary) Colleen Bhalla; 7. Management of trauma in the elderly Deborah R. Wong and Todd C. Rothenhaus; 8. Pain management in the elderly Ula Hwang and Timothy Platts-Mills; Part II. Common High-Risk Presentations in the Elderly: 9. Chest pain in the elderly Joseph R. Pare and Jeffrey I. Schneider; 10. Dyspnea in the elderly Denise Law and Ron Medzon; 11. Abdominal pain in the elderly Joseph P. Martinez and Amal Mattu; 12. Altered mental status in the elderly Scott T. Wilber and Jin H. Han; 13. Syncope in the elderly Teresita M. Hogan and Lindsay Jin; 14. Dizziness in the elderly Jonathan A. Edlow and David E. Newman-Toker; 15. Headache in the elderly Jolion McGreevy and Kerry K. McCabe; 16. Back pain in the elderly Keli M. Kwok; Part III. Systems: 17. Eye, ear, nose and throat emergencies in the elderly Kara Iskyan Geren; 18. Neurological emergencies in the elderly Lauren M. Nentwich; 19. Pulmonary emergencies in the elderly Thomas Perera; 20. Cardiovascular emergencies in the elderly Aileen McCabe and Abel Wakai; 21. Gastrointestinal emergencies in the elderly Maura Dickinson and Megan M. Leo; 22. Genitourinary and gynecologic emergencies in the elderly Marianne Haughey; 23. Rheumatologic and orthopedic emergencies in the elderly Peter J. Gruber and Chris Chauhan; 24. Infectious diseases in the elderly Robert S. Anderson, Jr and Stephen Y. Liang; 25. Hematologic/oncologic emergencies Michael P. Jones; 26. Psychiatric emergencies in the elderly Joanna Piechniczek-Buczek; 27. Metabolic and endocrine emergencies in the elderly Kristine Samson and Dany Elsayegh; Part IV. Special Topics: 28. Alternative geriatric care and quality metrics Mary E. Tanski and Jesse M. Pines; 29. Functional assessment of the elderly Kirk A. Stiffler; 30. Palliative and end-of-life care in the elderly Paul L. DeSandre and Karen M. May; 31. Social services and case management Ravi K. Murthy and Morsal R. Tahouni; 32. Falls and fall prevention in the elderly Christopher Carpenter; 33. Financial issues in geriatric emergency care Brendan G. Magauran, Jr; 34. Elder mistreatment Judith A. Linden and Jonathan S. Olshaker; Index.

Joseph H. Kahn MD, FACEP is Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, and Director of Medical Student Education, Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Brendan G. Magauran, Jr, MD, MBA is Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Jonathan S. Olshaker, MD, FACEP, FAAEM is Professor and Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, and Chief, Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.