• Jason A Lowe, Jeffrey Pearson, Michael Leslie, and Russell Griffin.
• Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix and the Center for Orthopaedic Research and Education, Phoenix, AZ.
• J Orthop Trauma. 2018 Mar 1; 32 (3): 129-133.

ObjectivesTo examine the characteristics of high-energy geriatric trauma over time.DesignRetrospective chart review.SettingLevel 1 trauma center.PatientsDemographic, injury, and clinical characteristics were compared between 34,017 patients with geriatric and nongeriatric high-energy trauma from 2005 to 2014 using t test, χ analysis, and negative binomial regression for annual trend in injuries.ResultsGeriatric high-energy trauma composed 11.2% of all trauma activations. Patients with geriatric high-energy trauma nearly doubled from the study period of 2005-2014 to previous 10 years (P = 0.0004). Compared with patients with nongeriatric trauma, geriatric high-energy traumas were twice as likely to be due to a fall from height (P < 0.0001), had higher Injury Severity Scores (P < 0.0001), fewer abdominal injuries (P = 0.0011), and have head trauma (P < 0.0001). Fracture patterns were similar between groups. Mortality was higher for all geriatric patients (odds ratio [OR], 4.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.00-5.67), and high-energy mechanisms (OR, 4.71; 95% CI, 3.90-5.68) compared with low-energy mechanisms (OR, 3.00; 95% CI, 2.48-3.62).ConclusionThe number of geriatric high-energy traumas has doubled over 10 years. Patients with geriatric trauma are sicker on presentation, based on the Injury Severity Score, and high-energy geriatrics have a 4-fold increase in mortality.Level Of EvidencePrognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

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