LETTER
Failure To Thrive in Older Adults
Michael Gordon, MD, FRCPC
15 April 1997 | Volume 126 Issue 8 | Page 669
TO THE EDITOR:
I believe that Sarkisian and Lachs [1] too readily discount an important value in the concept of failure to thrive in the elderly. Rather than being a diagnosis that stigmatizes older patients, it should raise the concerns of physicians and caregivers as it does when a child is so labeled. Pediatricians do not dismiss children's vague symptoms and lack of development as irrelevant but rather as a red flag to direct evaluation [2-4].
As a geriatrician I have found the concept of failure to thrive to be useful as an indicator that something serious is going on. It usually means that the patient requires a critical review to define the nature of the underlying problems so that decisions can be made as to appropriate investigations and treatment. Rather than a diagnosis, failure to thrive is a syndrome that should trigger an analytical response on the part of physicians. As in pediatrics, it is an important concept that should not be abandoned even though it is not always used properly by some health care providers. We should be educating those who care for the elderly to recognize the clinical and planning implications of the syndrome and respond accordingly.
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Author and Article Information
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Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, North York, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada
1. Sarkisian CA, Lachs MS. "Failure to thrive" in older adults. Ann Intern Med. 1996; 124:1072-8.
2. Leung AK, Robson WM, Fagan JE. Assessment of the child with failure to thrive. Am Fam Phys. 1993; 48:1432-8.
3. Marcovitch H. Failure to thrive. BMJ. 1994; 308:35-8.
4. Donaldson M. Failure to thrive [Letter]. BMJ. 1994; 308:596.
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