Reference no: EM133445529

Leah Smith, an 87-year-old patient, is at the clinic receiving an annual physical checkup. The patient is wearing a sweater but complains that the room is cold. The thermostat reads 70°F. The patient has a slow, wide-based gait, and she is flexed forward slightly when she walks. She opens her purse and tries to find the bottle of herbals she bought to make sure it is alright to take the supplement and has problems locating it by feeling for the bottle. She states that she is all thumbs. She complains that food does not smell or taste like she remembered it smelling and tasting 10 years ago. She wonders if it is because she used to grow her food and that is why it had a better taste and smell. She also stated that her family is concerned because she does not seem to have enough peripheral vision to drive, and she wiped out the mailbox yesterday when backing out of the driveway. The nurse performs a neurologic exam.

1. Explain the changes in the patient's neurologic function that are related to aging and what risks the patient has related to age-related changes.

2. Because age-related changes have an impact on the neurologic assessment, for what additional areas should the nurse assess the patient, and what findings reflect normal aging? What neurologic assessment findings do not change with aging?

3. After reviewing this case study, how will it change or guide your nursing care in the clinical setting?