Kleh J, Lange P, Karu E, Amos C
Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1978 Nov;29(11):735-8. doi: 10.1176/ps.29.11.735.
Disturbed elderly patients too often receive a general and rather automatic diagnosis of senility when a differential diagnosis, made by a multidisciplinary team, could identify their problems more specifically. The Gerontological Treatment Center of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington, D.C., has been making such differential diagnoses for the past four years and has returned nearly 80 per cent of its 300 patients to community living after six to eight weeks at the center. The most common problem found in the patients is depression. Case examples demonstrate the need for an understanding of both physical and mental problems that elderly patients face.
精神错乱的老年患者常常被一概而论地自动诊断为衰老，而一个多学科团队进行的鉴别诊断本可以更具体地识别他们的问题。华盛顿特区精神病研究所的老年病治疗中心在过去四年里一直在进行这样的鉴别诊断，在该中心治疗六到八周后，其300名患者中有近80%重返社区生活。在这些患者中发现的最常见问题是抑郁症。病例展示了理解老年患者所面临的身体和精神问题的必要性。
