title: High yield research opportunities in geriatric emergency medicine: prehospital care, delirium, adverse drug events, and falls.
abstract: Emergency services constitute crucial and frequently used safety nets for older persons, an emergency visit by a senior very often indicates high vulnerability for functional decline and death, and interventions via the emergency system have significant opportunities to change the clinical course of older patients who require its services. However, the evidence base for widespread employment of emergency system-based interventions is lacking. In this article, we review the evidence and offer crucial research questions to capitalize on the opportunity to optimize health trajectories of older persons seeking emergency care in four areas: prehospital care, delirium, adverse drug events, and falls.
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: Manish N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Fredric M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Hustey
authors.forename: Kennon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heard
authors.forename: Lowell W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Gerson
authors.forename: Douglas K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D003693:Delirium / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology