Very elderly more often given treatments reserved for younger seniors
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
July 23, 2008
Those people aged in their high 90s and older have seen a rise in procedures and treatments normally used for the elderly in their 70s and 80s, reports The New York Times. Patients older than 75 have not been commonly represented in clinical trials, but many geriatricians are reporting that certain procedures such as knee and hip replacements, heart valve replacements, pacemaker implants, and others are becoming more commonplace in patients 90 and older.
A debate has been started concerning how far the medical field should go in treating the oldest patients. Should relatively healthy patients who are very old be given the same treatments as younger elderly patients who have debilitating diseases, the article asks. Demographers estimate that there could be 1.1 million people over the age of 100 by 2050, representing a larger number of patients who may be eligible for such procedures.
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