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[The dilemma regarding treatment of pulmonary embolism among elderly patients]
Rani Patal1, Martine Szyper-Kravitz
1Internal Medicine B. Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer and the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University. rani.israel@gmail.com
Abstract:
Pulmonary embolism is a medical condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality. However, there are serious side effects to the anticoagulation therapy. We report on a 97-year-old woman who was admitted to the internal medicine department due to dyspnea and pleuritic chest pain. In the differential diagnosis we considered pulmonary embolism. In this article we present the diagnostic and therapeutic steps according to the guidelines, and compare them to a hypothetical situation of a younger woman who is presented with the same clinical findings. We discuss the risks that are attributed to pulmonary embolism on the one hand, and to the anticoagulation therapy on the other hand, with respect to elderly patients more than 80 and 90 years old versus younger patients.
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