Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026
06:52
Assessment of Dependence in Activities of Daily Living Among Older Patients in an Acute Care Unit
Published on: September 30, 2020
[Clinical practice guideline: a complete geriatric evaluation]
Juan Humberto Medina-Chávez1, Laura Del Pilar Torres-Arreola, Rosa María Cortés-González
1División de Excelencia Clínica, Coordinación de Unidades Médicas de Alta Especialidad, Distrito Federal, México. humberto.medina@imss.gob.mx
Revista Medica Del Instituto Mexicano Del Seguro Social
|December 20, 2011
Summary
Caring for aging populations requires special considerations. A practical tool is needed to help family physicians identify elderly patients needing specialized care, improving health and maintaining autonomy.
Area of Science:
- Geriatrics
- Internal Medicine
- Public Health
Context:
- The aging population presents unique healthcare challenges.
- Increased chronic diseases and vulnerability in the elderly strain healthcare resources.
- Current healthcare systems may lack an integrated view of geriatric patients.
Purpose:
- To develop a practical tool for family physicians.
- To differentiate elderly patients requiring specialized geriatric care.
- To identify issues amenable to intervention for improved health and autonomy.
Summary:
- The study highlights the need for specialized care considerations in the elderly.
- It addresses the growing demand for geriatric services and resource consumption.
- Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is identified as a crucial tool for clinical practice.
Impact:
- Facilitates early identification of at-risk elderly patients.
- Enables targeted interventions to improve health outcomes.
- Supports the maintenance of functional autonomy in older adults.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
01:27Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...
01:18Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion
In geriatric patients, renal physiology undergoes significant changes, including diminished renal blood flow and a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR), leading to alterations in medication clearance. Drugs such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, lithium, and digoxin, which rely on glomerular filtration for removal from the body, particularly impact pharmacokinetics. These drugs tend to have slower clearance rates in older adults, necessitating careful dosage considerations.Evaluation of renal...
01:18Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism
Geriatric patients show significant variation in how their bodies process medications, which can change how effective and safe treatments are. The liver is the primary organ where drug metabolism occurs, involving two main types of chemical reactions: phase I and II. Phase I metabolism is driven by the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, which includes key types such as CYP3A, CYP2D6, and CYP2C9. Research indicates that while aging doesn't notably alter the levels or activity of these enzymes, it...
01:00Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution
Drug distribution in the human body is influenced by several factors, including plasma protein concentration, body composition, blood flow, tissue-protein concentration, and tissue fluid pH. Among these, changes in plasma protein concentration and body composition due to aging significantly affect how drugs are distributed within the body. Specifically, aging is associated with a decrease in albumin levels by about 10% and an increase in α1-acid glycoprotein levels. These alterations are not...
01:22Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Absorption
As individuals age, their body's physiology evolves, affecting drug pharmacokinetics. The most apparent changes occur in the gastrointestinal tract, where an increase in gastric pH, a delay in gastric emptying, and a reduction in gastrointestinal motility are observed. Remarkably, these changes do not substantially modify the absorption of orally administered drugs, particularly those absorbed via passive diffusion.Transdermal drug delivery emerges as a highly viable method for older adults due...