Clinical laboratory findings in the elderly

Abstract

The aging of Brazilian population is inevitable. Thus, this article reviews the main aspects related to the elderly population, taking into account the particularities and problems encountered in the clinical laboratory when serving this population group. We start with a brief review of the aging process physiology and then discuss the difficulties of pre-Analytical (appropriateness of care), analytical (main issues for this age group sorted into body system categories) and post-Analytical phases.