Geriatrics for Specialists

This book aims to be a single point of reference for advances in the care of geriatric populations across medical and surgical specialties. The aging population is a unique demographic with its own health challenges. Geriatricians are specifically trained to address these challenges but few medical students or residents enter geriatrics, even as the demand for geriatric expertise increases. The practices of many medical and surgical specialists are dominated by older patients who may themselves see many specialists but rarely visit geriatricians. This updated edition elucidates the most common medical conditions seen in aging patients and translates approaches to those conditions for physicians across specialties. Divided into three sections that assemble crosscutting issues, medical specialties, and surgical and related specialties, this book serves as a guide for clinicians of all backgrounds who will work with older patients as the demographic ages further. This second edition of Geriatrics for Specialists expands the number of specialist chapters to reflect growth in research in aging and clinical care for older people in dermatology, plastic surgery, and behavioral neurology. All original chapters from the first edition are extensively revised and updated to reflect the rapid growth of new knowledge in the field. Foreword to the Second Edition Preface to the Second Edition Reasons for This Book Intended Audience The Approach Used in Developing the Book Background Acknowledgment Contents Contributors 1: Frailty 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Conceptualizing and Defining Frailty 1.3 Frailty Prevalence, Epidemiology, and Mortality Risk 1.4 Pathophysiology 1.5 Clinical Assessment of Frailty 1.6 Choosing a Specific Frailty Tool 1.6.1 Single-Item Surrogate Frailty Assessments (2–3 min) 1.6.2 Frail Scale and Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) Frailty Tools for Quick Assessment (