C M Bliss | PubMed Health

PubMed1991

Geriatric constipation: brief update on a common problem.

Constipation occurs frequently in the elderly and is often multifactorial in origin. A search for an underlying cause is necessary, and can often be found by taking an adequate history and performing a thorough physical examination. A minority of patients require further investigation, guided by the clinical setting. Management should be directed at correcting the underlying cause and providing dietary advice and, less commonly, medication to allow restoration of a normal bowel habit.

Aged↗

PubMed1987

Significance of occult gastrointestinal bleeding during anticoagulation therapy.

A prospective study was undertaken to determine the effect of anticoagulation therapy on the prevalence of occult gastrointestinal bleeding and to ascertain the causes of bleeding. During a six-month period, 256 patients who had received anticoagulants were screened for occult bleeding with guaiac-impregnated cards. Twenty-one (12 percent) of the 175 patients who had received anticoagulants and who voluntarily completed the cards had occult gastrointestinal bleeding compared with only two (3 percent) of 74 control patients who had not received anticoagulants. The mean prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time did not differ significantly in the patients who had received anticoagulants with and without subsequent bleeding. Fifteen of 16 patients who had received anticoagulants and who underwent diagnostic evaluation had previously undiagnosed lesions in the intestinal tract. These results indicate that occult gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient who has received an anticoagulant should not be attributed to the anticoagulant; instead, such bleeding often indicates the presence of significant intestinal disease.

Adult↗