Cools H J, van der Meer J W
Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum, afd. Huisartsgeneeskunde en Verpleeghuisgeneeskunde, Leiden.
Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 1998 Oct 10;142(41):2242-5.
Elderly people are exposed to infectious risks in ways different from younger people. These risks relate to environment, transmission routes and vectors, microbial colonisation of body surfaces and quality of host defence. Admission to a nursing home or a hospital may easily lead to colonisation with (resistant) potentially pathogenic micro-organisms, while pre-existing morbidity, medication and functional disability impair the quality of host defence, to a greater degree than the process of aging. In general, infections have a great impact on the elderly patient. Not only are infections in the elderly often serious, but they often have a deleterious effect on comorbidity and functional ability. Infections in elderly people with serious comorbidity face the physician with the dilemma how far to go with diagnostic procedures and therapy.
老年人面临的感染风险与年轻人不同。这些风险涉及环境、传播途径和媒介、体表微生物定植以及宿主防御质量。入住养老院或医院可能很容易导致（耐药的）潜在致病微生物定植，而既往疾病、药物治疗和功能残疾对宿主防御质量的损害程度超过衰老过程。一般来说，感染对老年患者有很大影响。老年人的感染不仅往往很严重，而且常常对合并症和功能能力产生有害影响。患有严重合并症的老年人发生感染时，医生面临着诊断程序和治疗要进行到何种程度的两难境地。
