Category: Geriatrics
Keywords: geriatrics, elderly, appendicitis (PubMed Search)
Posted: 6/7/2010 by Amal Mattu, MD
(Updated: 8/14/2024)
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Up to 25% of elderly patients with appendicitis are initially sent home from the ED, an indication of the high misdiagnosis rate for appendicitis in the elderly population. Why are elderly patients so often misdiagnosed when they have appendicitis? The answer is simple....they present very atypically.
Expect the atypical in elderly patients!