Adult-Gerontology Practice Guidelines

This book presents adult-gerontology practice guidelines for primary care. It is a useful comprehensive resource for health care practitioners working with both adult and geriatric populations and is presented in an easy to read format. The book is structured into three sections. Section I – Guidelines, has twenty five chapters. Chapter one presents a brief discussion of normal physiological changes in the aging adult. Chapter two talks about healthy living for the adult-geriatric patient. Chapter three describes adult-geriatric assessments. Chapter four explores caregiver and end-of-life issues. Chapter five discusses geriatric syndromes and frailty. Chapter six though twenty-five presents practice guidelines organized by body system and each body system lists disorders alphabetically. There are more than 240 guidelines with key features such as definition, incidence, pathogenesis, predisposing factors, common complaints, other signs and symptoms, subjective data, physical examination, diagnostic tests, differential diagnoses, plan of care, health promotion, follow-up, and consultation/referral. The guidelines are pain management, dermatology, eye, ear, nose, mouth and throat, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, obstetrics, gynecologic, sexually transmitted infections, infectious disease, systemic disorders, musculoskeletal, rheumatological, neurologic, endocrine, and psychiatric guidelines. Section II discusses 18 procedures including bimanual examination, cystometry, hernia reduction, neurologic examination, rectal prolapse reduction, and wet mount/cervical cultures. Section III presents 140 patient teaching guides on various topics including abdominal pain, back stretches, cerumen impaction, dementia, endometritis, fecal incontinence, grief, human papillomavirus, iron-deficiency anemia, jaundice and hepatitis, knee exercises, lichen planus, menopause, neck exercises, osteoarthritis, peripheral arterial disease, rocky mountain spotted fever and removal of a tick, skin care assessment, transient ischemic attack, urinary retention, varicose veins, warts, and xerosis.