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The impact of associated diseases on the etiology, course and mortality in geriatric trauma patients

Objectives To determine the impact of accompanying medical illnesses on the cause, course, mortality and morbidity of a geriatric trauma population. Methods This prospective and observational study was carried out in a university hospital that is a level 1 trauma center between January 2002 and January 2003 with a total of 55 patient aged over 65 years. All consecutive patients presented with trauma and having an Abbreviated Injury Severity Scale (AIS) score greater than 20 points were recruited. All patients and relatives were requested to give information on the accompanying diseases. The raw data were analyzed as to the effect of these factors on the findings relating to trauma severity, vital signs, course, short-term mortality and morbidity. Results The most common mechanism of trauma was pedestrians hit by cars (33%) in the young elderly group; 81.2% of the sample had an associated disease and 40% of these patients had a complaint related to the disease. The rates of admission to the intensive care units and mortality were higher in patients with higher total Abbreviated Injury Scale scores (P=0.007, P=0.003). Patients with pulmonary disease or myocardial infarction had a significantly higher mortality rate than those without. Conclusion Although not an essential factor in the cause per se, the diseases often encountered in the geriatric trauma population have a significant role on the course and mortality.