Epidemiology, Assessment, and Presentation of an Elderly Patient Suffering from a Traumatic Injury

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As technology advances and medical aid becomes readily available it is no wonder that the elderly within our communities are living longer. Unfortunately this poses a serious issue for health professionals as elderly are becoming more prevalently injured, presenting with complications of higher severity than their younger counterparts (Ng et al., 2002). This essay will discuss the epidemiology, assessment and presentation of an elderly patient suffering from a traumatic injury. It will also examine the considerations specific to the elderly in terms of management, and ethical and cultural differences.
As we grow older our susceptibility to a traumatic incident increases dramatically (Chan, Moran, Clarke, Martin, & Solomon, 2009). Elderly patients require far more resources medically than younger patients with the same mechanism of injury (Dinh, Roncal, Byrne, & Petchell, 2013), and it is likely due to the deterioration of the body’s systems that come with age. As seen in Fig 1 the two major causes of death for both sexes from age 65 – 84 are road traffic collisions (RTC) or falls.

Figure 1. Major causes of death due to unintentional injury between 2000-2002 (Retrieved from http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/pagesmh/5795/$File/older-peoples-health-chart-book-2006-new.pdf).
According to Oyetunji, Ong’uti, Bolorunduro, Gonzalez, Cornwell, & Haider (2011) , females of 65+ years are 47% less likely to die from injury in hospital than males, however they are 79.6% more likely to suffer from injure. As females have a longer life expectancy than males it is understandable why this occurs. Attributing factors to the high likelihood of an elderly person suffering from a traumatic event are the cardiac, respiratory and neurological deterio...

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...rtality associated with traumatic injuries in the elderly: A population based study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 54, 426-430.

Oyetunji, T.A., Ong'uti, S.K., Bolorunduro, O.B., Gonzalez, D.O., Cornwell, E.E. &Haider, A.H. (2011).Epidemiological Trend in Elderly Domestic Injury. Journal of Surgical Research, 173, 206-211.

PHTLS. (2011). PHTLS: Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (Military version: 7th ed.). St Louis, MO, USA: Elsevier.

Porth, C. &Matfin, G. (2009) Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States. Philadelphia, United States of America: Wolters Kluwer Health.

Schouten, B.C. &Meeuwesen, L. (2006). Cultural differences in medical communication: A review of the literature. Patient Education and Counseling, 64, 21-34.

St John Clinical Advisory Group. (2011). St John Authorised Patient Care Procedures. Wellington: Order of St John.

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