Epidemiology of geriatric trauma in United Arab Emirates

• Published in: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics Vol. 47; no. 3; pp. 377 - 382
• Main Authors: Adam, Shehabeldin H, Eid, Hani O, Barss, Peter, Lunsjo, Karl, Grivna, Michal, Torab, Fawaz Chikh, Abu-Zidan, Fikri M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.11.2008
• Subjects: Accidental Falls - statistics & numerical data; Accidents, Traffic - statistics & numerical data; Age Distribution; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cause of Death; Elderly people; Female; Geriatric Assessment; Hospital Mortality - trends; Hospitalization; Humans; Incidence; Injuries; Injury Severity Score; Internal Medicine; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Physical trauma; Probability; Prospective Studies; Registries; Risk Assessment; Sex Distribution; Survival Analysis; Trauma in elderly; Traumatic injuries; United Arab Emirates; United Arab Emirates - epidemiology; Wounds and Injuries - diagnosis; Wounds and Injuries - epidemiology; Wounds and Injuries - etiology; United Arab Emirates; Traumatic injuries; Trauma in elderly; Mortality
• ISSN: 0167-4943; 1872-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2007.08.018

Abstract The mechanisms and outcome of trauma in hospitalized elderly patients were studied. The data of Al-Ain Hospital Trauma Registry were prospectively collected over a period of 3 years (2003–2006). All elderly trauma-patients above 60 years who were admitted to surgical ward or who died on arrival were studied. Demography of patients, mechanism of injury, Injury Severity Score (ISS), hospital stay and mortality were analyzed. There were 121 patients (70 males and 51 females). Mean (range) age was 69 years (60–100), 42% were United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals. The two most common mechanisms of injury were falls (55%) followed by road traffic collisions (RTC) (32%). The median (range) ISS of the group was 5 (1–34). The ISS median (interquartile range) of falling down, RTC, and fall from height were 4 (4–9), 6 (4–10), and 8 (5–9), respectively ( p = 0.31). Forty-one percentage of injuries occurred at home. The mean (range) hospital stay was 12.4 (1–150) days. Six patients (5%) were admitted to the intensive care unit. Overall mortality was 6% (7 patients), of whom 5 were pedestrians hit by cars. We concluded that low-energy trauma from falls was the most common cause of injury in the elderly. Mortality was high mainly from pedestrian injuries.