From the publisher
Understanding the complex pharmacological changes that occur with aging is critical to informed prescribing-yet much of today's practice in geriatric prescribing continues to be based on anecdotal evidence and case report data instead of controlled research studies. Navigating the vast database in geriatric psychopharmacology is a daunting task at best, leaving many clinicians overwhelmed and confused-and opening the door to potentially dangerous consequences for some of our most fragile patients.
Now clinicians can turn to this definitive work on general and geriatric psychopharmacology. Here, three experienced pharmacologists provide a truly practical "how to" guide to clinical geriatric prescribing, drawing upon their own first-hand clinical experience and their reading of the literature in geriatric psychopharmacology.
This concise handbook is replete with valuable advice (drug dosing, titration) for day-to-day clinical practice, including unique "quick-reference" summaries of prescribing data on selected drugs in each class. The introduction focuses on the essentials of geriatric pharmacokinetics and a general approach to geriatric prescribing, offering guidelines on how to improve compliance in the elderly. The next four chapters cover major psychotropic medication classes-antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and anxiolytic and sedative-hypnotic medications-including information about pharmacology, clinical use, side effects, and treatment. At the end of each of these chapters, are unique "quick-reference" summaries of prescribing data on selected drugs in each class. The last three chapters are devoted to several critical areas of geriatricpsychopharmacology-treatment of substance-related disorders, movement disorders, and dementias and other cognitive syndromes-that do not fit well into the traditional organization of psychopharmacology books and therefore have seldom been the subject of in-depth treatment elsewhere.
Written for residents, fellows, and colleagues in psychiatry and medicine who diagnose and treat psychiatric and neuropsychiatric conditions that can affect geriatric patients, this clinical reference is a must for anyone serving the elderly in any setting (inpatient, outpatient, day hospital, consultation, and nursing homes). Geriatric and general psychiatrists, geriatric medical specialists, internists and family practitioners, medical students and residents, and case managers and social workers-all will rely on this handy guide for the critical information needed to provide optimal care for our fast-growing population of elderly patients.
