SOME TERMINAL ASPECTS OF DISEASE IN OLD AGE - A CLINICAL STUDY OF 300 PATIENTS

The terminal stages of life were observed in 300 patients whose ages ranged between 65 and 104 years. The clinical syndromes found to be associated with the final deterioration were classified into four groups: 1) ischaemia in 31 per cent; 2) toxaemia in 15 per cent; 3) unexpected complications in 25 per cent; and 4) incomplete or unsatisfactory diagnosis in 29 per cent. In geriatrics the direction and speed of the patient's course are more important than the patient's exact position at any given time. © 1969 The American Geriatrics Society.