Emerg Med Clin N Am 24 (2006) xv–xvi
Preface
Geriatric Emergency Medicine
Brendan Magauran, MD, MBA, FACEP
Joseph H. Kahn, MD, FACEP Guest Editors
Jonathan S. Olshaker, MD, FAAEM, FACEP
The percentage of the United States population that is 65 years and over will rise from the current 12% to 21% by 2050. Currently the elderly comprise 15% of all emergency department visits in the United States, so we can expect there will be an even greater increase in the proportion of emergency department patients who are elderly. Elderly emergency department patients have a high acuity level, often without the typical presentation of serious illness. In this edition, we attempt to provide the emergency physician with a framework for the resuscitation, evaluation, management, and disposition of the elderly patient in the emergency department. We focus on the unique pathophysiology of geriatric patients that makes them susceptible to serious disease without the usual outward manifestations we expect to see. We have tried to present the special needs of this vulnerable patient population so that as practitioners of Emergency Medicine we can care for the elderly patient as effectively, efficiently, and humanely as possible. We wish to thank all of the authors who so meticulously researched and wrote the various articles in this edition of Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. We also wish to thank our families for their support in the hours needed to revise and assemble this issue. We would like to thank Karen Sorensen and the staff at Elsevier for their support and patience.
0733-8627/06/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.emc.2006.01.014 emed.theclinics.com