SURVEY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH A HISTORY OF MALAISE OR FALLING

Falls preceded or not by fainting and fainting followed or not by a fa ll are common, and often serious, in the elderly and must be considere d as an emergency and hence properly investigated, not only in order t o seek possible consequences, in particular skeletal, but also regardi ng etiology. This requires a history, physical examination and investi gations, simple in most cases. Difficulties are increased by the frequ ency of multiple mechanisms, within which particular attention must be paid to iatrogenic pathology.