Lessons from a geriatric clinical case from the 19th century: a bridge to modern geriatric medicine.

Count Neipperg (1775-1829), the morganatic husband of Maria Luigia of Habsburg, Napoleon's former wife, presented with typical heart failure symptoms and died of bilateral bronchopneumonia. Neipperg's case is an example of the conflict in the medical field, which led to the birth of modern evidence-based medicine (EBM), and although Neipperg died almost 200 years ago, his case presents the same critical issues that more complex geriatric patients face today. First, the attending physicians provided divergent opinions without reaching an agreement.