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Assessment of Geriatric Trauma: Special Considerations

  • Geriatric Orthopedics (EG Meinberg, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The incidence of geriatric trauma continues to rise as patients live longer and stay active for a longer length of time. The longer life span unfortunately brings with it an increased risk of injury, predominantly due to the elderly person being unable to correctly physiologically compensate for trauma. This decreased compensation is a result of multiple anatomic and physiological factors. Appropriate pre-hospital triage algorithms, a thorough assessment of injuries, the use of specific geriatric trauma protocols, and knowledge of a patient’s comorbidities can assist in maximizing outcome while minimizing morbidity for this at-risk cohort.

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Conflict of Interest

Gudrun E. Mirick and Jennifer H. Wood declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hennepin County Medical Center, 701 Park Ave, Minneapolis, MN, 55415, USA

    Gudrun E. Mirick

  2. Rubin Institute of Advanced Orthopaedics, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, 2401 W Belvedere Ave, Baltimore, MD, 21215, USA

    Jennifer H. Wood

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  2. Jennifer H. Wood
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Correspondence to Gudrun E. Mirick.

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Mirick, G.E., Wood, J.H. Assessment of Geriatric Trauma: Special Considerations. Curr Geri Rep 3, 122–127 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-014-0084-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-014-0084-7

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