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Der ältere Patient – wer ist das?

The elderly patient – who is that?

  • Schwerpunkt: Altersmedizin
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Zusammenfassung

Chronologisch gesehen beginnt die Altersmedizin (Geriatrie) jenseits des 65. Lebensjahres. Diese Definition wird per se aus verschiedenen Gründen den heutigen Umständen zur Definition des älteren Patienten und damit der sinnhaften Betreuung durch den Geriater nicht wirklich gerecht. Neben dem chronologischen Alter bedarf es Zusatzfaktoren, um den älteren Patienten zu definieren. Mit zunehmendem Alter nehmen die funktionellen Reserven ab. Dies führt zu erhöhter Vulnerabilität. „Frailty“ als Begriff umreißt dies und lässt sich pathophysiologisch durch vorab subklinische Entzündungsphänomene fassen. Davon ausgehend haben die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geriatrie (DGG), die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gerontologie und Geriatrie (DGGG) sowie die Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Geriatrischer Einrichtungen (BAG) im Jahr 2007 gemeinsam eine Definition des geriatrischen Patienten ausgearbeitet.

Abstract

From a chronological viewpoint, medical treatment of the elderly (geriatrics) starts from the age of 65 years old. This definition per se is nowadays certainly not really an adequate definition of an elderly patient and the reason to be treated by a geriatrician. In addition to chronological age, other factors must be considered in order to define the elderly patient. Functional reserves decrease with age, which leads to increased vulnerability. Frailty as a term describes this situation and can be defined pathophysiologically by a mainly subclinical inflammatory state. Therefore, in 2007 the German Society of Geriatrics (DGG), the German Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics (DGGG), and the German Group of Geriatric Institutions (BAG) have jointly developed a definition of the geriatric patient.

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Correspondence to C.C. Sieber.

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Sieber, C. Der ältere Patient – wer ist das?. Internist 48, 1190–1194 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00108-007-1945-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00108-007-1945-3

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