Turkish Journal of Geriatrics 2011 , Vol 14, Issue 2
NEUROLOGIC EVALUATION OF GERIATRIC CASES ADMITTED TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
Filiz KOÇ1, Zeynep KEKEÇ2
1Çukurova Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Nöroloji Anabilim Dalı ADANA
2Çukurova Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Acil Tıp Anabilim Dalı ADANA Introduction: Our world is aging rapidly, so this age population is on the increase also in our community. Designation of the frequent diseases and their risk factors in this age group may bring about a decrease in both disabilities and health expenditures. The aim of this study was to identify the frequency of neurological symptoms and the established diagnoses in patients admitted to the emergency department.

Materials and Method: The study included 3851 cases, 1945 (50.5%) women and 1907 (49.5%) men, at a mean age of 73.4±6.0 years (65-102) admitted to Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine, department of emergeny during the period between 01.01.2006 and 01.12.2007.

Results: Five hundred and eighteen (13.4%) patients were admitted to the emergency department with neurological symptoms. The most frequent symptoms were speech disorders, paresthesia in limbs, nasolabial asymmetry, unconsciousness and headache.

Conclusion: The most common etiological factors were stroke, vertebrobaziler deficiency and metabolic encephalopathy. Keywords : Aged; Emergency Service, Hospital; Geriatric Assessment; Neurologic Manifestations