Abdominal Pain in the Geriatric Patient




With an aging population, emergency department clinicians can expect an increase in geriatric patients presenting with abdominal pain. Compared with younger patients, this patient population is less likely to present with classic symptoms, physical examination findings, and laboratory values of abdominal disease. However, the morbidity and mortality associated with elderly patients presenting with abdominal pathologic conditions are significant. For this reason, the clinician must be familiar with some subtle and not so subtle differences when caring for the geriatric patient with abdominal pain to ensure timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment.


Key points








  • Geriatric patients with abdominal disease or pathologic conditions present to the emergency department atypically.



  • There is increased morbidity and mortality associated with geriatric patients who are seen in the emergency department with abdominal pain compared with younger patients.



  • Further diagnostics and admission are frequently warranted in elderly patients who present with abdominal pain.


Only gold members can continue reading. Log In or Register to continue

Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel

Dec 13, 2017 | Posted by in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Abdominal Pain in the Geriatric Patient

Full access? Get Clinical Tree

Get Clinical Tree app for offline access