Use of the Laboratory in the Diagnostic Workup of Older Adults

Mugdha Thakur; P. Doraiswamy

The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Geriatric Psychiatry, 4th Edition >

< Previous

Next >

Chapter 10. Use of the Laboratory in the Diagnostic Workup of Older Adults

Mugdha Thakur, M.D.; P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D.

DOI: 10.1176/appi.books.9781585623754.389827

text A A A

Sections

Excerpt

Laboratory testing is an essential component of the psychiatric evaluation of elderly individuals, who often present with comorbid medical illnesses. The laboratory does not replace the clinician; there is no test that is pathognomonic for a primary psychiatric illness. However, laboratory testing does aid in the evaluation of comorbidities that complicate or contribute to a psychiatric diagnosis.

Your session has timed out. Please sign back in to continue.

Username

Password

Sign in via Athens (What is this?)

Athens is a service for single sign-on which enables access to all of an institution's subscriptions on- or off-site.

Forgot Password?

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now/Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5 library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing PsychiatryOnline@psych.org or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

References

CME Activity

Add a subscription to complete this activity and earn CME credit.

Sample questions:

You are treating an 83-year-old patient for depression and she develops fatigue, nausea, dizziness, gait disturbances, forgetfulness, confusion, lethargy, and muscle cramps. You obtain a general chemistry panel, and her serum sodium concentration is 120 mEq/L. What psychotropic medication has been reported to produce this condition in the elderly?

You are asked to evaluate a 79-year-old man who was hospitalized on the general medical service for evaluation of mental status changes associated with malnutrition. You recommend to the medical team that they order a serum homocysteine level. The resident asks why the order is necessary. All of the following answers are true except

In a community psychiatry clinic, you see for the first time a 78-year-old patient who has been treated for a number of years with thioridazine. You immediately decide to order an electrocardiogram (ECG). What ECG changes are you particularly concerned about?

NOTE:
Citing articles are presented as examples only. In non-demo SCM6 implementation, integration with CrossRef’s “Cited By” API will populate this tab (http://www.crossref.org/citedby.html).

Compression-Only CPR: Pushing the Science Forward
Cone
AAM 2010;304:1493-1495.

All you need to read in the other general journals
BMJ 2010;341:c5893-c1494.

Chapter 10. Use of the Laboratory in the Diagnostic Workup of Older Adults

Sections

Excerpt

SECTION QUICK LINKS

References

CME Activity