It is time for a change in the management of elderly severely injured patients! An analysis of 126,015 patients from the TraumaRegister DGU®

Christopher Spering; Rolf Lefering; Bertil Bouillon; Wolfgang Lehmann; Kajetan von Eckardstein; Klaus Dresing; Stephan Sehmisch

doi:10.1007/s00068-019-01229-8

It is time for a change in the management of elderly severely injured patients! An analysis of 126,015 patients from the TraumaRegister DGU^®

Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2020 Jun;46(3):487-497. doi: 10.1007/s00068-019-01229-8. Epub 2019 Sep 13.

Authors

Christopher Spering¹, Rolf Lefering², Bertil Bouillon³, Wolfgang Lehmann⁴, Kajetan von Eckardstein⁵, Klaus Dresing⁴, Stephan Sehmisch⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Trauma Surgery, Orthopaedics and Plastic Surgery, University of Göttingen Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany. christopher.spering@med.uni-goettingen.de.
² Institute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM), University of Witten/Herdecke, Cologne, Germany.
³ Department of Trauma Surgery, Orthopeadics and Sports Traumatology, University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany.
⁴ Department of Trauma Surgery, Orthopaedics and Plastic Surgery, University of Göttingen Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany.
⁵ Department of Neurosurgery, University of Göttingen Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany.

PMID: 31520156
DOI: 10.1007/s00068-019-01229-8

Abstract

Background: The number of elderly patients among the severely injured has been increasing continuously. It has been suggested that an increased life expectancy and a higher level of activity and mobility in older ages could explain this observation. Elderly trauma patients have relevant higher mortality rates and poorer functional outcomes. The reasons remain unclear. The aim of this study was to look for differences in the management of severely injured elderly patients compared to younger age groups and to evaluate their potential impact on outcome.

Methods: The TraumaRegister DGU^® is a multicenter database that documents de-identified data of severely injured patients since 1993. Trauma cases documented between 2009 and 2016 with an ISS ≥ 9 were divided in four age groups. The groups were compared with respect to mechanism of injury, pattern of injury, severity of injury, management and outcome.

Results: The analysis of 126,015 severely injured patients showed that 37.5% of the population were elderly patients (≥ 60 years). Their rate actually increased every year by 1.7%. The elderly trauma patients experience different mechanisms of injury (more low energy trauma) and different pattern of injuries (more brain trauma, less abdominal and extremity injuries). Evaluating the management of patients showed that elderly patients have lower intubation rates and less volume replacement in the prehospital setting. Diagnostic interventions like CT scans in the emergency room were performed more restrictively. Elderly trauma patients also received fewer surgical interventions for brain injuries, pelvic fractures and femur fractures. Their hospital mortality rates were higher.

Conclusions: Severely injured elderly patients are treated with a more "wait and see approach" resulting in higher mortality rates. We suggest that this population needs a more "aggressive management" to improve their outcome, if the wish to perform complete treatment including surgical procedures and intensive care medicine has not been excluded by the patients or their legal guardian.

Keywords: Management of multiple injured elderly; Polytrauma; Severely injured elderly.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Germany / epidemiology
Humans
Injury Severity Score
Male
Middle Aged
Registries*
Risk Factors
Wounds and Injuries / epidemiology
Wounds and Injuries / therapy*