Management Strategies in Geriatric Trauma Care

Abstract

The geriatric population is rapidly growing, and they are leading an increasingly active lifestyle resulting in a brisk and continuing increase in the incidence of traumatic injury in this population. Due to normal physiologic changes associated with aging and an increased prevalence of coexisting disease, it is expected that traumatic injuries in geriatric patients would be associated with a higher morbidity and mortality. However, the current statistics are dismal, and the economic impact is enormous. It is imperative that we improve. This chapter will provide a brief overview of the normal physiologic changes associated with aging and then discuss a geriatric-specific approach to the triaging, evaluation, and management of these patients with a particular focus on orthopedic and neurologic traumatic injuries. It will conclude with a brief discussion of the concept of clinical momentum as it relates to the management of traumatic injuries in the geriatric population.