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25 - Trauma in the Elderly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2010

By
Jeffrey H. Silverstein
Edited by
Charles E. Smith
Jeffrey H. Silverstein
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York
Charles E. Smith
Affiliation:
Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
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Summary

Objectives

  1. Understand the basic physiology of aging.

  2. Utilize current concepts of elderly trauma outcomes to support triage decisions.

  3. Apply knowledge of those aspects of aging required to design and execute an anesthetic plan for an elderly trauma victim.

When an elderly patient enters the trauma room, what is your first thought? Do you rush to be more aggressive because elderly patients are more fragile and need more immediate and intensive trauma care? Do you question whether the resources and effort necessary to treat such a patient are likely to provide benefit to the patient or society because the functional outcome for such patients is so poor? This chapter seeks to summarize the current knowledge regarding the best approach to elderly trauma victims.

Life expectancy in the United States continues to rise. Persons reaching the age of 65 years have an average life expectancy of an additional 18.1 years (19.4 years for females and 16 years for males) [1]. The retiring baby boomer population is more active than previous generations of elderly, many driving into their 90s and pursuing a variety of activities that increase their exposure to traumatic injury. Unintentional injury is the sixth leading cause of death among patients 65–74 years of age. This and other information can be accessed from the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/)

Type
Chapter
Information
Trauma Anesthesia , pp. 391 - 401
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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  • Trauma in the Elderly
  • Edited by Charles E. Smith, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
  • Book: Trauma Anesthesia
  • Online publication: 18 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511547447.028
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  • Trauma in the Elderly
  • Edited by Charles E. Smith, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
  • Book: Trauma Anesthesia
  • Online publication: 18 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511547447.028
Available formats
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  • Trauma in the Elderly
  • Edited by Charles E. Smith, Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
  • Book: Trauma Anesthesia
  • Online publication: 18 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511547447.028
Available formats
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