Osmoreceptor sensitivity, as estimated by the plasma vasopressin (AVP) response to hypertonic saline infusion, increases with age. We studied volume-pressure sensitivity, as estimated by the plasma AVP response to orthostasis, in healthy young (19-31 yr old; n = 12) and old (62-80 yr old; n = 15) subjects. After remaining recumbent overnight (minimum of 8 [...]
A prospective study was undertaken to investigate the incidence and aetiology of acute confusional states in physically ill old people. The subjects were 71 patients aged 70 years or over who were admitted as emergencies to a general medical unit. Mental testing revealed that: (a) one in six patients had an acute confusional state on [...]
The causes, therapy for, and consequences of hypernatremia in elderly patients are not well understood. We found that in 15,187 consecutive hospital admissions, 162 (1.1%) patients who were at least 60 years of age had serum sodium levels that measured greater than 148 meq/L. Of that 162, 57% had become hypernatremic in the hospital; the [...]
No abstract available.
A trend toward more hot and humid summers in the United States raises concern for the health of our elderly population. Older adults are more vulnerable to heat illness than younger people because of dysfunctional thermoregulatory mechanisms, chronic dehydration, medications, and diseases involving the systems that regulate body temperature. Heat exhaustion, if untreated, will lead [...]
No abstract available.
Hypernatremia in elderly patients is most often due to the patients mental incapacity or physical inability to obtain water despite intact thirst sensation. Hypodipsia leading to hypernatremia is not often considered in alert, elderly subjects since hypodipsia is not a recognized consequence of nonaphasia-producing cerebrovascular accidents. Described herein are six elderly patients who had such [...]
OBJECTIVE: To determine changes in standard laboratory measures of dehydration among residents of a nursing home care unit (NHCU) over a 6-month period. DESIGN: A prospective cohort analytic study. SETTING: A 130-bed NHCU in a Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital. PATIENTS: Fifteen infirm but stable male residents (mean age 77 years; range (R) 62-93) on [...]
No abstract available.