During the last decades as the population has become older, the demand for acute hospital care for elderly people has increased and gerontologically adjusted services have become the norm for the highest standard of care. Compared with younger adults, elderly patients have more severe illnesses, including worsened functional impairment and more frequent and longer hospitalisations. Additionally, diagnosis is often challenging because clinical presentations of common disorders may often be atypical in the elderly. When prescribing medications, physicians have to take into account the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes observed with ageing. This book fills the gap in the literature available on acute geriatric care.
