Infectious Disease in the Aging. a Clinical Handbook

About this book

Because aging is accompanied by a steady decline in resistance to infectious diseases, the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases in the elderly is not only much more complex, but also often quite different from that for younger patients. In Infectious Disease in the Aging: A Clinical Handbook, 2nd Edition, a panel of well-known and highly experienced geriatric physicians and infectious disease experts review the most important common infections affecting the elderly and delineate their well-proven diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventative techniques. Among the illnesses discusses are urinary tract infections, pneumonia, ocular infections, tuberculosis, and fungal and viral infections. There are detailed discussion of sepsis, infective endocarditis, intraabdominal infections, bacterial meningitis, osteomyelitis and septic arthritis, and prosthetic device infections. In addition, this 2nd edition includes new chapters on Herpes zoster, HIV/AIDS, and SARS and West Nile Virus.
Comprehensive, informative, and easily accessible, Infectious Disease in the Aging: A Clinical Handbook, 2nd Edition, offers all physicians treating geriatric patients the quickest and most up-to-date guide to understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious disease problems in the elderly today.

Written for: Primary care physicians, family physicians, internists, geriatricians, gerontologists, infectious disease specialists, and emergency medicine physicians

Table of contents

Concepts and Principles of Infections and Aging.- Epidemiology of aging and infectious diseases.- Factors predisposing to Infection.- Clinical features of infections.- Role and importance of functional assessment in infections.- Principles of antimicrobial therapy.- Common Infections.- Sepsis.- Bronchitis and pneumonia.- Tuberculosis.- Infective endocarditis.- Intraabdominal infections.- Infectious diarrhea (Note: will include D. difficile and norovirus).- Urinary tract infection.- Bacterial meningitis and brain abscess.- Osteomyelits and septic arthritis.- Skin and soft tissue infections.- Herpes zoster.- Orofacial and odontogenic infections.- Ocular infections.- Otitis externa, otitis media and sinusitis.- Prosthetic device infections.- Staphylococcal and enterococcal infections.- Fungal infections.- Viral infections.- Special or Unique Infectious Disease Problems.- Infections in long-term care setting.- Infection control in long-term care setting.- Infection in diabetics.- Vaccinations.- Nutrition and infection.- Sexually transmitted diseases (excluding HIV/AIDS).- Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome.- Severe acute respiratory syndrome and West Nile virus infection.

Reviews

From the first edition:

“This book is subdivided into three well-organized sections: concepts and principles of infection among the aged (including a review of the changing immune systems of the elderly and an overview of recent epidemiologic trends among the elderly); chapters on common infectious diseases (i.e., endocarditis, UTIs); and chapters on unique concerns among elderly such as management of infections in the long-term care setting. The greatest strengths are in the areas not covered in most texts: immunization, prevention, and altered pharmacodynamics. . .The references and index are well organized and contain up-to-date references. . .This is an excellent quick review of the pertinent infectious diseases issues among the geriatric population. . .The value of this text is enhanced by the topics covered that are often overlooked in others including multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections, long-term care-related problems, and immunization issues among the elderly.” - (Doody’s Health Sciences Book Review Journal)

“The second section of the book, which deals with specific infections , has some very useful and well-written chapters. The chapter on sepsis is up-to-date and informative. The chapter on tuberculosis is an excellent and relevant source of information about this disease in elderly people. The chapter on intra-abdominal infections is also informative, as is the chapter on urinary tract infections. The chapter on viral infections is well written... The chapter on nutrition and infection gives an excellent overview of nutrition in the elderly population and its effect on the immune system....I would recommend this book to general-medicine physicians who treat elderly patients.” - (Clinical Infectious Diseases)