• Audrey-Anne Brousseau, Marcel Émond, Marie-Josée Sirois, Raoul Daoust, Lauren E Griffith, Eddy Lang, Jacques Lee, Jeffrey J Perry, Marie-Christine Ouellet, René Verreault, Simon Berthelot, Éric Mercier, Nadine Allain-Boulé, Valérie Boucher, Pier-Alexandre Tardif, and Natalie Le Sage.
• *Axe Santé des Populations et Pratiques Optimales en santé,Unité de recherche en vieillissement,Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec,Québec, QC.
• Can J Emerg Med. 2017 Sep 1; 19 (5): 329-337.

ObjectivesThe consequences of minor trauma involving a head injury (MT-HI) in independent older adults are largely unknown. This study assessed the impact of a head injury on the functional outcomes six months post-injury in older adults who sustained a minor trauma.MethodsThis multicenter prospective cohort study in eight sites included patients who were aged 65 years or older, previously independent, presenting to the emergency department (ED) for a minor trauma, and discharged within 48 hours. To assess the functional decline, we used a validated test: the Older Americans' Resources and Services Scale. The cognitive function of study patients was also evaluated. Finally, we explored the influence of a concomitant injury on the functional decline in the MT-HI group.ResultsAll 926 eligible patients were included in the analyses: 344 MT-HI patients and 582 minor trauma without head injury. After six months, the functional decline was similar in both groups: 10.8% and 11.9%, respectively (RR=0.79 [95% CI: 0.55-1.14]). The proportion of patients with mild cognitive disabilities was also similar: 21.7% and 22.8%, respectively (RR=0.91 [95% CI: 0.71-1.18]). Furthermore, for the group of patients with a MT-HI, the functional outcome was not statistically different with or without the presence of a co-injury (RR=1.35 [95% CI: 0.71-2.59]).ConclusionThis study did not demonstrate that the occurrence of a MT-HI is associated with a worse functional or cognitive prognosis than other minor injuries without a head injury in an elderly population, six months after injury.

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