TARGET AUDIENCE
This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners involved in the management of elderly patients who present with abdominal pain.

Original Release Date: May 2009
Expiration Date: May 31, 2010
Estimated Time to Complete this Activity/CNE: 1 hour
Medium: Printed journal and online CME

Sponsored by Postgraduate Institute for Medicine

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The primary objective of this educational initiative is to provide clinicians in primary care with the most up-to-date information regarding the broad differential diagnosis of abdominal pain in older patients and a methodical, disciplined approach to evaluation and diagnosis.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

• List key conditions to be considered in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain in elderly patients.
• Identify important differences between elderly patients and younger adults in terms of incidence, symptom-atology, and assessment for several abdominal pain—associated conditions.
• Describe the steps in a rapid assessment of an elderly patient who presents with acute abdominal pain.
• Specify laboratory and imaging studies that most reliably rule out or confirm conditions in the differential diagnosis.

FACULTY
Miguel A. Pineiro, MHS, PA-C, is a staff physician assistant with Wake Emergency Physicians, PA, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

PHYSICIANS
Accreditation Statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) and Quadrant HealthCom Inc. PIM is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Credit Designation: Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS
The American Academy of Physician Assistants accepts AMA category 1 credit for the PRA from organizations accredited by ACCME.

NURSE PRACTITIONERS
This program has been approved by the Nurse Practitioner Association New York State (The NPA) for 1.0 contact hour.

DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) assesses conflict of interest with its instructors, planners, and managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of CME activities. All relevant conflicts of interest that are identified are thoroughly vetted by PIM for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies utilized in this activity, and patient care recommendations. PIM is committed to providing its learners with high-quality CME activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in health care and not a specific proprietary business interest of a commercial interest.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity: Miguel A. Pineiro, MHS, PA-C, reported no significant financial relationship with any commercial entity related to this activity.

The planners and managers reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity: Jan Hixon, RN, BSN, MA, Linda Graham, RN, BSN, BA, and Trace Hutchison, PharmD, reported no significant financial relationship with any commercial entity related to this activity.

METHOD OF PARTICIPATION
The fee for participating and receiving CME credit for this activity is $10.00. During the period May 2009 through May 31, 2010, participants must:

1) read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures;
2) study the educational activity;
3) enter payment information electronically;
4) complete the 10-question posttest by recording the best answer to each question; and
5) complete the additional evaluation questions by recording the relevant response to each question.

If you have any questions, call (800) 423-3576 or e-mail evaluations@pimed.com. A statement of credit will be issued only upon receipt of a completed activity evaluation form and a completed posttest with a score of 70% or better.

This test also can be taken in the May 2009 issue of Clinician Reviews.

DISCLOSURE OF UNLABELED USE
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM), The NPA, and Quadrant HealthCom Inc. do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of PIM, The NPA, or Quadrant HealthCom Inc. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

DISCLAIMER
Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and the possible contraindications or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.