Trauma In Elderly Population Research Articles

Hospitalization costs of injury in elderly population in China: a quantile regression analysis

BackgroundTrauma in the elderly is gradually growing more prevalent as the aging population increases over time. The purpose of this study is to assess hospitalization costs of the elderly trauma population and analyze the association between those costs and the features of the elderly trauma population.MethodsIn a retrospective analysis, data on trauma patients over 65 who were admitted to the hospital for the first time due to trauma between January 2017 and March 2022 was collected from a tertiary comprehensive hospital in Baotou. We calculated and analyzed the hospitalization cost components. According to various therapeutic approaches, trauma patients were divided into two subgroups: non-surgical patients (1320 cases) and surgical patients (387 cases). Quantile regression was used to evaluate the relationship between trauma patients and hospitalization costs.ResultsThis study comprised 1707 trauma patients in total. Mean total hospitalization costs per patient were ¥20,741. Patients with transportation accidents incurred the highest expenditures among those with external causes of trauma, with a mean hospitalization cost of ¥24,918, followed by patients with falls at ¥19,809 on average. Hospitalization costs were dominated by medicine costs (¥7,182 per capita). According to the quantile regression results, all trauma patients' hospitalization costs were considerably increased by length of stay, surgery, the injury severity score (16–24), multimorbidity, thorax injury, and blood transfusion. For non-surgical patients, length of stay, multimorbidity, and the injury severity score (16–24) were all substantially linked to higher hospitalization costs. For surgical patients, length of stay, injury severity score (16–24), and hip and thigh injuries were significantly associated with greater hospitalization costs.ConclusionsUsing quantile regression to identify factors associated with hospitalization costs could be helpful for addressing the burden of injury in the elderly population. Policymakers may find these findings to be insightful in lowering hospitalization costs related to injury in the elderly population.

Timing and Associated Outcomes of Chemical Prophylaxis Against Venous Thromboembolism in the Elderly Trauma Population.

This study aims to assess chemical VTE prophylactic type and timing and associated outcomes within the elderly trauma population. This is a single center study of Trauma Registry data, inclusive years July 1, 2016, to February 28, 2021. The patients were grouped based upon discharge disposition. 7261 elderly trauma patients were included in the analysis. Late administration of VTE prophylaxis was associated with a discharge disposition to hospice. Administration of unfractionated heparin was most associated with in-hospital mortality. Xa inhibitors had the least impact on morbidity and mortality, with most likely associations in discharge to rehab or a skilled nursing facility. LMWH associated with a discharge to a rehab facility. The timing of administration and type of VTE prophylaxis may significantly affect the morbidity and mortality outcomes in elderly trauma.

Impact of orthogeriatric care management by orthopedic surgeons and physicians on in-hospital clinical outcomes: A difference-in-difference analysis.

The orthopedic surgery unit in our suburb serves a large elderly trauma population in addition to providing elective surgeries. As patients with hip fractures have become older and at higher risk of medical complications, our hospital has initiated integrated co-management of these patients by orthopedic surgeons and geriatricians from the point of hospital admission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the hospital policy change on hip fracture management and clinical outcome indicators. Using the difference-in-difference approach, in total, 288 consecutive patients with hip fractures treated during the 1year before and 2 years after transition to orthogeriatric care from a geriatric consultation model to integrated orthogeriatric care model were compared with 576 patients from other local hospitals. Despite a seasonal trend toward increased length of hospital stay in winter, the intervention significantly reduced the change in mean length of stay (mean difference [95% confidence interval], -12.9 days [-21.5 to -4.3]; P=0.007) and discharge to home tended to change less frequently (-12.6%; P=0.10). There was no significant reduction in mean time to surgery (-0.2 days; P=0.83), mortality (-0.8%; P=0.62), or complications (-1.0%; P=0.85). Changing our hip fracture service from a geriatric consultation model of care to an integrated orthogeriatric model significantly reduced length of hospital stay probably due to a lower chance of discharge to home. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Japan to compare two orthogeriatric care models considering the nationwide improvement in hip fracture management. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 138-144.

The patient's voice matters: The impact of advance directives on elderly trauma patients.

Geriatric trauma rates are increasing, yet trauma centers often struggle to provide autonomy regarding decision making to these patients. Advance care planning can assist with this process. Currently, there are limited data on the impact of advance directives (ADs) in elderly trauma patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of preinjury AD in geriatric trauma patients and its impact on outcomes, with the hypothesis that ADs would not be associated with an increase in mortality. A multicenter retrospective review was conducted on patients older than 65 years with traumatic injury between 2017 and 2019. Three Level I trauma centers and one Level II trauma center were included. Exclusion criteria were readmission, burn injury, transfer to another facility, discharge from emergency department, and mortality prior to being admitted. There were 6,135 patients identified; 751 (12.2%) had a preinjury AD. Patients in the AD+ group were older (86 vs. 77 years, p < 0.0001), more likely to be women (67.0% vs. 54.8%, p < 0.0001), and had more comorbidities. Hospital length of stay and ventilator days were similar. In-hospital mortality occurred in 236 patients, and 75.4% of them underwent withdrawal of care (WOC). The mortality rate was higher in AD+ group (10.5% vs. 2.9%, p < 0.0001). No difference was seen in the rate of AD between the WOC+ and WOC- group (31.5% vs. 39.6%, p = 0.251). A preinjury AD was identified as an independent predictor of mortality, but not a predictor of WOC. Despite a high WOC rate in patients older than 65 years, most patients did not have an AD prior to injury. As the elderly trauma population grows, advance care planning should be better integrated into geriatric care to encourage a patient-centered approach to end-of-life care. Prognostic and epidemiological, level IV.

Pattern of trauma in elderly patients seen at the trauma centre of national hospital Abuja, Nigeria.

IntroductionThe global population is aging, creating challenges for health systems. The mean age of patients with major trauma has increased over time, posing some challenges for trauma system designs. Elderly trauma patients are said to have higher mortality rates and longer hospital and intensive care unit stays. This study is aimed at assessing the pattern of injuries in elderly population in a dedicated trauma centre of a developing economy.MethodsThis is a retrospective study of all patients aged 60 years and above seen in the trauma centre of a West African tertiary hospital over a three year period from January 2017 to December 2019. Relevant parameters including Sociodemographic data, injury pattern and injury scores were derived from the trauma registry. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24. Results were presented using tables and a figure.ResultsA total of 183 patients aged 60 years and above were enrolled out of 4549 general trauma patients, representing 4% of the trauma patient population seen. Male to female ratio was 2.3 with the mean age of 65 ± 6.3. The most frequent mechanisms of injury were motor vehicular crash (MVC) (48.4%), followed by falls (16.5%). More proportion of females (21.8%) were significantly found to suffer falls compared to their males (14.2%) counterparts (p < 0.05). Traumatic brain injury was the commonest diagnosis accounting for 24.3% of cases. The predominant revised trauma scores (RTS) and injury severity scores (ISS) were 12 and 1–15 respectively, with overall mortality of 6.1%.ConclusionThe proportion of elderly trauma patients studied in this centre is low. MVC is still the leading mechanism of injury in our elderly trauma population. The mortality rate is however low in this study, in line with the low trauma and severity scores. Preventive measures for MVC should be strongly encouraged to reduce the incidence of elderly trauma patients in this part of the world.

Elderly trauma mortality in a resource-limited setting: A benchmark for process improvement

IntroductionAs life expectancy improves globally, the burden of elderly trauma continues to increase. Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to have the most rapid growth in its elderly demographic. Consequently, we sought to examine the trends in characteristics and outcomes of elderly trauma in a tertiary care hospital in Malawi. MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of adult patients in the trauma registry at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe, Malawi from 2011-2017. Patients were categorized into elderly (≥ 65 years) and non-elderly (18-64 years). Bivariate analysis compared the characteristics and outcomes of elderly vs. non-elderly patients. The elderly population was then examined over the study period. Poisson regression modeling was used to determine the risk of mortality among elderly patients over time. ResultsOf 63,699 adult trauma patients, 1,925 (3.0%) were aged ≥ 65 years. Among the elderly, the most common mechanism of injury was falls (n = 725 [37.7%]) whereas vehicle or bike collisions were more common in the non-elderly (n = 15,967 [25.9%]). Fractures and dislocations were more prevalent in the elderly (n = 808 [42.0%] vs. 9,133 [14.8%], p < 0.001). In-hospital crude mortality for the elderly was double the non-elderly group (4.8% vs. 2.4%, p < 0.001). Elderly transfers, surgeries, and length of stay significantly increased over the study period but mortality remained relatively unchanged. When adjusted for injury severity and transfer status, there was no significant difference in risk of in-hospital mortality over time. ConclusionAt KCH, the proportion of elderly trauma patients is slowly increasing. Although healthcare resource utilization has increased over time, the overall trend in mortality has not improved. As the quality of care for the most vulnerable populations is a benchmark for the success of a trauma program, further work is needed to improve the trend in outcomes of the elderly trauma population in Malawi.

Pattern and Outcome of Traumatic Brain Injury in Geriatric Population in Emergency Hospital Mansoura University

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a critical public health and socioeconomic problem throughout the world, making epidemiological monitoring of incidence, prevalence and outcome of TBI necessary. In addition, TBI in elderly patients is a neglected global disease burden. The main cause is fall, followed by motor vehicle accidents. Severe trauma in elderly population imposes a significant health care burden and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Objective: To determine the pattern and outcome of traumatic brain injury in geriatric population in order to improve the management of geriatric trauma patients at Emergency Hospital Mansoura University. Patients and methods: This was a prospective observational clinical study, which was conducted on 206 elderly trauma patients presented and admitted to Emergency Hospital Mansoura University (a level one trauma center with about 250,000 visit and 25,000 trauma cases per year) over a year from December 2019 to December 2020. Results: Polytrauma was the commonest type with only 35% of the studied cases were isolated head injury. Most cases had multiple lesions (63.6%) with only 36.4% of which had single lesion. The majority of cases had no associated injuries, with few cases had scalp injury (16.5%) and free abdominal fluid of various degrees (27%). The average period of hospital stay was 10.42 ± 3.110, while the average period of ICU stay was 7.75 ± 4.538. The average GOS among the studied cases was 4.83 ± 2.965 and the majority of which (359%) died (grade 5). Conclusion: The current study demonstrated that, TBI in elderly cases is a life threatening condition with a high mortality rate in which falling from height (FFH) was the predominant mode.

ASA Physical Status Classification Improves Predictive Ability of a Validated Trauma Risk Score.

Introduction:The Score for Trauma Triage in the Geriatric and Middle-Aged (STTGMA) is a validated mortality risk score that evaluates 4 major physiologic criteria: age, comorbidities, vital signs, and anatomic injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the addition of ASA physical status classification system to the STTGMA tool would improve risk stratification of a middle-aged and elderly trauma population.Methods:A total of 1332 patients aged 55 years and older who sustained a hip fracture through a low-energy mechanism between October 2014 and February 2020 were included. The STTGMA and STTGMAASA mortality risk scores were calculated. The ability of the models to predict inpatient mortality was compared using area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) by DeLong’s test. Patients were stratified into minimal, low, moderate, and high risk cohorts based on their risk scores. Comparative analyses between risk score stratification distribution of mortality, complications, length of stay, ICU admission, and readmission were performed using Fisher’s exact test. Total cost of admission was fitted by univariate linear regression with STTGMA and STTGMAASA.Results:There were 27 inpatient mortalities (2.0%). When STTGMA was used, the AUROC was 0.742. When STTGMAASA was used, the AUROC was 0.823. DeLong’s test resulted in significant difference in predictive capacity for inpatient mortality between STTGMA and STTGMAASA (p = 0.04). Risk score stratification yielded significantly different distribution of all outcomes between risk cohorts (p < 0.01). STTGMAASA stratification produced a larger percentage of all negative outcomes with increasing risk cohort. Total hospital cost was statistically correlated with both STTGMAASA (p < 0.01) and STTGMA (p = 0.02).Conclusion:Including ASA physical status as a variable in STTGMA improves the model’s ability to predict inpatient mortality and risk stratify middle-aged and geriatric hip fracture patients.

Traumatic oral mucosal lesions in elderly dental patients - An institutional study

Oral trauma in elderly population constitutes an increasingly recognized problem. Aging results in a progressive decline in cellular function, which leads to loss of their capacity to respond to an injury. The aim of the study is to check the prevalence of traumatic oral mucosal lesions in elderly population/patients visiting a dental clinic. Elderly patients with oral mucosal lesions reported to dental hospitals were selected. Data from 86000 patients visiting Saveetha Dental College during the time period of June 2019 to March 2020 were reviewed, and the data was collected. This is a single centred retrospective study conducted in a private dental institution, Chennai. The collected data were tabulated and analysed using SPSS software by IBM. Out of 80 patients, 56.3% of the patients were of age 60 to 65 years. 42% of the patients had Denture stomatitis which was the highest among all the traumatic oral mucosal lesions. Males were more prevalent to oral mucosal lesions with 57.5% than females. The most common site with oral mucosal lesions is palate with 44%. The overall prevalence of traumatic oral mucosal lesions in the elderly population is high. Denture stomatitis is the most commonly occurring oral traumatic mucosal lesion among elderly patients visiting the dental clinic.

Le Fort III Fractures are Associated with Mortality in the Elderly Trauma Population

Le Fort III Fractures are Associated with Mortality in the Elderly Trauma Population

Ketamine infusion for pain control in elderly patients with multiple rib fractures: Results of a randomized controlled trial.

Rib fractures are associated with increased mortality, particularly in the elderly. While opiate-based pain regimens remain the cornerstone of rib fracture management, issues related to opioids have driven research into alternative analgesics. Adjunctive ketamine use in lieu of opioids continues to increase but little evidence exists to support its efficacy or safety within the elderly trauma population. A prospective, randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial of elderly patients (age, ≥65 years) with three or more rib fractures admitted to a Level I trauma center was conducted. Exclusion criteria included Glasgow Coma Scale score less than 14, and chronic opiate use. Groups were randomized to either low-dose ketamine (LDK) at 2 μg·kg·min or an equivalent rate of 0.9% normal saline. The primary outcome was reduction in numeric pain scores (NPS). Secondary outcomes included oral morphine equivalent (OME) utilization, epidural rates, pulmonary complications, and adverse events. Thirty (50.8%) of 59 were randomized to the experimental arm. Groups were similar in makeup. Low-dose ketamine failed to reduce 24-hour NPS or OME totals. Subgroup analysis of 24 patients with Injury Severity Score greater than 15 demonstrated that LDK was associated with a reduction in OME utilization the first 24-hours (25.6 mg vs. 42.6 mg, p = 0.04) but at no other time points. No difference in other secondary outcomes or adverse events was noted. Low-dose ketamine failed to affect NPS or OME within the overall cohort, but a decrease in OME was observed in those with an Injury Severity Score greater than 15. Additional studies are necessary to confirm whether LDK benefits severely injured elderly patients. Therapeutic, level I.

Improvement in geriatric trauma outcomes in an evolving trauma system

BackgroundThe elderly trauma patient has increased mortality compared with younger patients. During the last 15 years, initial treatment of severely injured patients at Oslo University Hospital Ulleval (OUHU) has changed...

Geriatric Trauma

The geriatric trauma population continues to grow as life expectancy and unintentional injury increase. Age-related physiologic changes and complex comorbidities may not only lead to injury but also may precipitate a downward spiral. The injury patterns, presentation of life-threatening injury, and response to injury are unique in the elderly trauma population, and dedicated evaluation of elderly trauma patients at a trauma center may be beneficial. Aggressive, early intervention with a focus on geriatric-specific needs and care coordination are an integral part of the management to reduce morbidity and mortality. Much of the unintentional injuries may be preventable with identification of risk factors for falls and fall prevention programs. Frailty measurements may be used to predict morbidity and functional status. Surgeons must become familiar with geriatric-specific issues and how best to treat the geriatric trauma population. This review contains 3 figures, 2 tables, and 133 references. Key Words: care coordination, elderly, frailty, geriatric, injury, prevention, risk factors, trauma, triage

Analysis of Transfusion Volumes in the Elderly Trauma Population

Background: Blood transfusion and old age have been independently associated with worse outcomes and higher mortality in the trauma population. Determining specific volumes and ratios of blood products for the elderly population, a special population with varied hemodynamic responses to traumatic injury, is a challenge. This study was aimed at delineating the relationship between specific transfusion volumes and mortality with an ultimate goal of finding an optimal threshold where risk outweighs benefit. Methods: A retrospective study of data from patients aged 65 and older at a level II urban trauma center was conducted. All patients who were included in the study presented to the emergency department between January 2013 and January 2016 and received a blood product transfusion (n = 93). The primary outcome was defined as mortality 24 h after transfusion, while the secondary outcome measured was length of hospital stay. Optimal cut-off points were estimated using Youden J coefficients, and Cox proportional hazard ratio (HR) was performed to calculate mortality risk. Results: Patients receiving less than 5 units of blood product had a shorter length of stay (5.19 days) and decreased risk of mortality (HR = 2.48, P = 0.01). Patients receiving &gt;= 5 units of a blood product had a statistically significant increase in risk of mortality (HR = 6.207, P &lt; 0.001) and length of hospital stay (12.47 days), regardless of injury severity score. The administration of fresh frozen plasma was also an independent predictor of mortality. Patients who received a plasma transfusion had an increased risk of mortality (HR = 3.25, P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: In this study, a threshold point of greater than 5 units of blood products has been associated with increased mortality and length of hospital stay. A more restrictive transfusion strategy has potential for improved outcomes. J Curr Surg. 2019;9(4):45-50 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jcs392

Use of Anticoagulants Remains a Significant Threat to Timely Hip Fracture Surgery.

Introduction:Hip fracture remains the biggest single source of morbidity and mortality in the elderly trauma population, and any intervention focused on quality improvement and system efficiency is beneficial for both patients and clinicians. Two of the variables contributory to improving care and efficiency are time to theater and length of stay, with the overall goal being to improve care as reflected within the achievement of best practice tariff. One of the biggest barriers to optimizing these variables is preinjury anticoagulation.Method:Building on our previous work with warfarin in this population, we utilized a regional hip fracture collaborative network collecting prospective data through the National Hip Fracture Database with custom fields pertaining to all agents, including novel oral anticoagulants.Results:In all, 1965 hip fracture patients median age 83 years (1639 not anticoagulated) were admitted to the 5 centers over 12 months. Median length of stay was 20.71 days; time to theater 23.09 hours, and the populations (anticoagulated vs control) were evenly matched for injury. Anticoagulated patients were delayed to theater (P ≤ .001), were inpatients for longer (P ≤ .001) and gained less best practice tariff (P ≤ .05). All variables per agent were noted and the impact of each assessed.Conclusions:Despite the widespread use of newer anticoagulants, popular due to unmonitored reversal and administration, patients stay longer in hospital and wait longer for surgery than nonanticoagulated patients of the same age and injury. Contemporary perioperative practices impact negatively on the ability to perform timely surgery on hip fracture patients. We propose a guideline specific to the management of anticoagulation in the hip fracture population to aid the optimum preparation of patients for theater, achievement of timely surgery, and potentially reduce length of stay.

How Does Frailty Factor Into Mortality Risk Assessment of a Middle-Aged and Geriatric Trauma Population?

Introduction:Frailty in elderly trauma populations has been correlated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. The Score for Trauma Triage in the Geriatric and Middle-Aged (STTGMA) is a validated mortality risk score that evaluates 4 major physiologic criteria: age, comorbidities, vital signs, and anatomic injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the addition of additional frailty variables to the STTGMA tool would improve risk stratification of a middle-aged and elderly trauma population.Methods:A total of 1486 patients aged 55 years and older who met the American College of Surgeons Tier 1 to 3 criteria and/or who had orthopedic or neurosurgical traumatic consultations in the emergency department between September 2014 and September 2016 were included. The STTGMAORIGINAL and STTGMAFRAILTY scores were calculated. Additional “frailty variables” included preinjury assistive device use (disability), independent ambulatory status (functional independence), and albumin level (nutrition). The ability of the STTGMAORIGINAL and the STTGMAFRAILTY models to predict inpatient mortality was compared using area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs).Results:There were 23 high-energy inpatient mortalities (4.7%) and 20 low-energy inpatient mortalities (2.0%). When the STTGMAORIGINAL model was used, the AUROC in the high-energy and low-energy cohorts was 0.926 and 0.896, respectively. The AUROC for STTGMAFRAILTY for the high-energy and low-energy cohorts was 0.905 and 0.937, respectively. There was no significant difference in predictive capacity for inpatient mortality between STTGMAORIGINAL and STTGMAFRAILTY for both the high-energy and low-energy cohorts.Conclusion:The original STTGMA tool accounts for important frailty factors including cognition and general health status. These variables combined with other major physiologic variables such as age and anatomic injuries appear to be sufficient to adequately and accurately quantify inpatient mortality risk. The addition of other common frailty factors that account for does not enhance the STTGMA tool’s predictive capabilities.

Older Age, Comorbid Illnesses, and Injury Severity Affect Immediate Outcome in Elderly Trauma Patients.

Introduction:Trauma in elderly population is frequent and is associated with significant mortality, not only due to age but also due to complicated factors such as the severity of injury, preexisting comorbidity, and incomplete general assessment. Our primary aim was to determine whether age, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and preexisting comorbidities had an adverse effect on the outcome in patients aged 65 years and above following blunt trauma.Methods:We included 1027 patients aged ≥65 years who were admitted to our Level I Trauma Center following blunt trauma. Patients’ charts were reviewed for demographics, ISS, mechanism of injury, preexisting comorbidities, Intensive Care Unit and hospital length of stay, complications, and in-hospital mortality.Results:The mean age of injured patients was 78.8 ± 8.3 years (range 65–109). The majority of patients had mild injury severity (ISS 9–14, 66.8%). Multiple comorbidities (≥3) were found in 233 patients (22.7%). Mortality during the hospitalization stay (n = 35, 3.4%) was associated with coronary artery disease, renal failure, dementia, and warfarin use (P < 0.05). Chronic anticoagulation treatment was recorded in 13% of patients. The addition of a single comorbidity increased the odds of wound infection to 1.29 and sepsis to 1.25. Both age and ISS increased the odds of death as −1.08 and −2.47, respectively.Conclusions:Our analysis shows that age alone in elderly trauma population is not a robust measure of outcome, and more valuable predictors such as injury severity, preexisting comorbidities, and medications are accounted for adverse outcome. Trauma care in this population with special considerations should be tailored to meet their specific needs.

Injuries and outcomes associated with traumatic falls in the elderly population on oral anticoagulant therapy

IntroductionFall risk for older adults is a multi-factorial public health problem as 90% of geriatric injuries are caused by traumatic falls. The CDC estimated 33% of adults >65 years incurred a fall in 2011, with 30% resulting in moderate injury. While much has been written about overall risk to trauma patients on oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy, less has been reported on outcomes in the elderly trauma population. We used data from the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) to identify the types of injury and complications incurred, length of stay, and mortality associated with OACs in elderly patients sustaining a fall. MethodsUsing standard NTDB practices, data were collected on elderly patients (≥65 years) on OACs with diagnosis of fall as the primary mechanism of injury from 2007 to 2010. Univariate analysis was used to determine patient variables influencing risk of fall on OACs. Odds ratios were calculated for types of injury sustained and post-trauma complications. Logistic regression was used to determine mortality associated with type of injury incurred. ResultsOf 118,467 elderly patients sampled, OAC use was observed in 444. Predisposing risk factors for fall on OACs were >1 comorbidity (p<0.0001). Patients on OACs were 188% and 370% more likely to develop 2 and >3 complications (p<0.0001); the most significant being ARDS and ARF (p<0.0001). The mortality rate on OACs was 16%. Injuries to the GI tract, liver, spleen, and kidney (p<0.0002) were more likely to occur. However, if patients suffered a mortality, the most significant injuries were skull fractures and intracranial haemorrhage (p<0.0001). ConclusionsRisks of anticoagulation in elderly trauma patients are complex. While OAC use is a predictor of 30-day mortality after fall, the injuries sustained are markedly different between the elderly who die and those who do not. As a result there is a greater need for healthcare providers to identify preventable and non-preventable risks factors indicative of falls in the anti-coagulated elderly patient.

Dependency in activities of daily living following limb trauma in elderly referred to shahid beheshti hospital, kashan-iran in 2013.

Background:Activities of daily living (ADL) are an important indicator of health and independence in elderly. It provides useful information for proper planning in the field of elderly care. Trauma in elderly population is frequent and can negatively affect the independence in ADL.Objectives:The purpose of the present study was to evaluate elderly independence in activities of daily living (ADL) following limb trauma and its related factors in patients referred to trauma emergency ward of Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Kashan, Iran, in 2013.Patients and Methods:This descriptive study was conducted on 200 traumatic patients admitted to trauma emergency ward of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in 2013. The questionnaire used in this study had three parts as demographic data, information related to trauma and ISADL (independency scale of activities of daily living). ISADL was completed in emergency ward to declare pretraumatic status; it was also completed 1 and 3 months after trauma. Statistical analysis was conducted by Chi-square test, One-way and two-factor ANOVA, and Multiple regression analysis. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software, version 16.Results:The average age of participants was 70.57 ± 9.05 years. In total, 80.5% of the elderly were completely independent in ISADL before trauma; this decreased to 13.5% one month after trauma. Besides, 32% of the elderly were completely or relatively dependent three months after trauma. Two-factor ANOVA showed a significant association between the scores of ISADL, the time interval and the type and location of an injured organ, and having the surgery as a treatment.Conclusions:More than three-quarters of the elderly were independent in ISADL before the trauma, but trauma in elderly patients had a substantial negative effect on patients' ability and ADL function.

Missed Opportunities for Palliative Care: Identifying the Palliative Care Needs in the Elderly Trauma Population

Missed Opportunities for Palliative Care: Identifying the Palliative Care Needs in the Elderly Trauma Population