[Gastroenterology in the elderly]

The medical care of old patients becomes more and more important. Currently about 21% of all people are older than 60 years. Decisions about therapeutical procedures often cannot be based on guidelines, because studies leading to this guidelines have normally excluded older patients. Decisions have often to be made individually in view of different factors like comorbidity and social structures. All symptoms occuring in older patients need a careful diagnostic work-up, even the majority of complaints as in younger people are of functional origin. In view of the high life expectancy and quality of life the use of difficult and expansive diagnostic and therapeutical tools are justified also in older people. So diagnostic and interventional endoscopic procedures can be done with low risk in older patients.