EVALUATION OF GERIATRIC PATIENTS PRESENTINGTO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT WITH TRAUMA

Abstract

Objective: Elderly people are more open to accidents due to the physical changes brought by ageing, and an accident
or falling that may not cause an important problem in a normal healthy adult may lead to significant injury even death in
elderly persons.
In this study, we aimed to prospectively determine demographic features, clinical findings, comorbidities, trauma
mechanisms and trauma localizations in geriatric patients who presented to our hospital, and to provide contribution to the
management of geriatric trauma patients that account for a considerable part of presentations to emergency departments.
Method: This study included a total of 2108 geriatric patients aged 65 years and over, who presented to the emergency
department of Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training & Research Hospital due to trauma between 01/12/2014 and 30/11/2015.
Patients’ demographic data, the way of arrival to emergency department, body region of trauma, GCS scores at the time of
admission, vital findings at the time of admission and scene of the trauma were recorded. All data obtained about the
patients were recorded to the prepared forms.
Results: The incidence of geriatric trauma cases was 0.62% among all presentations. The rate of traumas experienced
at street by patients aged under 75 years was significantly higher than those experienced at street by patients aged over 75
years (p<0.05). The rate of female patients who presented with complaint of falling was significantly higher compared to male
patients with the same complaint. The number of male patients who presented with complaint of assault was significantly
higher than female patients.
Conclusion: Geriatric patients group is at high risk for traumas. Studies should be performed on this issue and sensitive
scoring systems should be developed.