Specific aspects of infection treatment in elderly patients

Abstract

Elderly people are great consumers of medicines, and antimicrobial medicines are among those most frequently prescribed to patients. There are specific aspects related to the elderly that make the prescription, use and monitoring of antimicrobials highly complicated. Age-caused physiological changes result in alterations in their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic traits, which may modify the development of the infection and the response to certain antimicrobial medicines. Due to the prevalence of chronic diseases, the elderly simultaneously consume many types of medicines, which may be the cause of adverse reactions or drug-drug interactions. Since the aspects mentioned above must be taken into account, special attention in infection treatment of the elderly is justified.