Objective: To investigate the injury pattern, management and outcome of road traffic injuries in the elderly\r\npatients (60 years and above) involved in motor vehicle accidents and to compare factors associated with trauma\r\nand differences in trauma mortality between elderly and younger adult patients.\r\nMethods: This is a retrospective descriptive study conducted at a teaching hospital during Jun 2002 to Jan\r\n2010, studying the differing pattern, and management of road traffic injuries in patients aged 60 years and above,\r\ndesignated as Group-A, and those below 60 years of age, designated as Group ââ?¬â??B, regardless of gender of the\r\npatients.\r\nAll the patients were referred through casualty and were assessed clinically followed by relevant investigations.\r\nPatients who sustained minor injuries were discharged after necessary treatment while those with serious injuries\r\nrequiring intervention were admitted and managed accordingly. Patients having purely orthopaedic problems like\r\nisolated fractures or spine injuries were also excluded from the study. Treatment was instituted according to the\r\nseverity of the trauma ranging from conservative treatment to laparotomy and chest intubation. The variables studied\r\nincluded demographics of both groups of patients, pattern of injuries sustained in both groups, trauma indices ISS\r\nand GCS, mechanism of injury, major injuries sustained, treatment instituted, mean number of hospital days, and\r\nmorbidity and mortality.\r\nDetails of individual patients were recorded on a proforma and data analyzed statistically on SPSS version 17.\r\nResults: A total 300 patients (Group-A n=149[49.66%] versus Group-B n=151[50.33%]) admitted and\r\nintervened were included in the study. Male patients predominated both the groups (Group-A. [Mean age 66.91, Std\r\n6.859, Males n=115, Females n= 34] vs Group-B [Mean age 35.52, Std 13.814, Males n= 140, Females n= 11]).\r\nThe group-A patients had significantly higher proportion of co-morbidities (p<0.001) compared to group-B patients\r\n(64.42% versus 18.66%). The mortality rises progressively with age and is almost twice as high as in younger\r\npopulation at all levels of severity of trauma. Incidence of chest injuries with rib fractures was more common in elderly\r\nvictims (P<0.001) compared to the younger patients (40.26%) versus (12.58%). The overall in hospital mortality in\r\nGroup-A patients was 14.76% compared to (4.63) in group-B for an almost comparable severity of injuries sustained.\r\nConclusion: The incidence of road traffic accidents is on the rise in the elderly. The elderly patients have a\r\ndifferent pattern of road traffic injuries and they respond poorly to the sustained injuries despite low ISS compared\r\nto the younger patients
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