Disease Presentation

The differential diagnosis of atypical disease presentations in older adults is as encompassing as the entire spectrum of medicine. Virtually any disease, either acute or the worsening of a chronic illness, may be the precipitating cause for any atypical disease presentation in an older adult. However, there are a few common illnesses that account for the majority of these cases. The more common illnesses to consider would be:

1. Infection (urinary, pneumonia, sepsis, other)
2. Ischemic heart disease (congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, other)
3. Medications (alcohol, prescription and non-prescription)
4. Metabolic abnormalities (dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, other)

This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list but will certainly assist in formulating a management plan for further assessment and subsequent treatment for these individuals. Investigations targeted to identify these common causes of disease in the elderly will yield positive results the majority of the time.