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Abdominal Pain in the Geriatric Patient
Amy Leuthauser1, Benjamin McVane2
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Bay of Plenty District Health Board, Tauranga Hospital, Cameron Road, Private bag 12024, Tauranga 3142, New Zealand.
Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America
|May 3, 2016
Summary
Diagnosing abdominal pain in elderly patients is complex due to comorbidities and medications that mask symptoms. Clinicians must consider diverse conditions and non-abdominal causes for accurate geriatric pain management.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Medicine
- Gastroenterology
- Clinical Diagnosis
Background:
- Abdominal pain in the elderly presents unique diagnostic challenges.
- Comorbidities and polypharmacy in older adults can obscure typical disease indicators.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the difficulties in diagnosing abdominal pain in geriatric patients.
- To emphasize the need for a broad differential diagnosis in this population.
Main Methods:
- Review of clinical presentations of abdominal pain in the elderly.
- Consideration of atypical symptom presentation in older adults.
Main Results:
- Geriatric patients often lack traditional signs of common abdominal conditions.
- Extra-abdominal abnormalities can manifest as abdominal pain.
Conclusions:
- A wide differential diagnosis is crucial for evaluating elderly patients with abdominal pain.
- Clinicians must consider non-abdominal etiologies presenting as abdominal pain in the geriatric population.
Keywords:
Abdominal pain in the elderlyApproachAtypical presentations of common abnormalities in the elderlyGeriatricMore Related Videos
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