Patients with isolated musculoskeletal trauma have lower mental status scores.
The subjective concerns and needs of patients who have experienced trauma are important to recovery. However, the mental status of patients with isolated musculoskeletal trauma is not known. Is the mental status of such patients different and does the severity, site, and type of trauma affect this difference? We evaluated the mental status of 195 patients hospitalized for isolated musculoskeletal trauma and determined the characteristics of the factors that affect mental status; 197 patients hospitalized for elective surgery and not exposed to acute trauma constituted the control group. We administered the Mini-Mental State Examination to study and control groups within the first 24 hours of hospitalization. Age, gender, and educational status in the study and control groups were recorded. In addition, the severity, site, and type of trauma in the study group were recorded. Mini-Mental State Examination scores of the trauma group were lower than those of the control group. Mini-Mental State Examination scores decreased with increasing trauma severity. The mental status of the patients sustaining isolated musculoskeletal trauma was affected by the severity, site, and type of trauma.


METHODS
Level I, prognostic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Orthopaedic and Traumatology Department, Goztepe Research and Training Hospital, Kadikoy, Istanbul, Turkey. kunay69@yahoo.com
Koray
K
Unay
Omer
O
Karatoprak
Nadir
N
Sener
Melih
M
Guven
Abdullah
A
Bilge
D015998:Abbreviated Injury Scale; D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000523:psychology*