Longnecker's Anesthesiology > Part 2. Preparing for Anesthesia > Section B. Preoperative Evaluation of the Anesthesia Patient > Chapter 20. Evaluation of the Geriatric Patient Stanley Muravchick, MD, PhD, and Katherine Grichnik, MD

Key Points

"1. The elderly are the fastest-growing segment of the population.

2. A healthy elderly patient may have normal organ function but less reserve.

3. There are normal organ and overall functional changes of aging that do not imply disease but must be considered when planning an anesthetic.

4. Elderly patients have a high incidence of chronic disease states.

5. Elderly patients do not require a "special" anesthetic, but rather require strict attention to meticulous preoperative assessment, detailed management of intraoperative variables and concurrent disease states, and cautious titration of drug administration and dosages.

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