The elderly patient

Abstract

Many more elderly individuals will present for treatment in acute care now than in the past as the proportion of patients in the geriatric age group increases. Physiological changes in the elderly affect the way their bodies handle and react to various drugs, and this needs to be kept in mind during the management of these patients in acute care. Some pharmacological changes can be predicted while many others remain unknown simply because large randomized controlled trials are difficult to perform in this age group. Many who present in the acute setting may already have medical co-morbidities and be on multiple medications which will increase their risks for drug-drug interactions and associated adverse effects. The pharmacokinetic changes associated with ageing include changes in absorption due to decreased blood flow, altered volume of distribution depending on lipid solubility or water solubility, decreased metabolism and excretion. It is imperative that drug administration in this category of patients is titrated to meet the patients needs.