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An elderly woman presents with a chief complaint of constipation, with few symptoms of acute abdomen. Would you suspect appendicitis in this patient? You may find a misleadingly benign physical assessment in older patients, despite the presence of a potentially lethal illness, warns Karen Hayes, ARNP, PhD, assistant professor at the School of Nursing at Wichita (KS) State University.

Are you missing serious illness in older patients?

September 1, 2004 5 minutes read