title: Trauma in elderly patients evaluated in a hospital emergency department in Konya, Turkey: a retrospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Trauma is a common cause of admission to the hospital emergency department. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cause of admission, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of patients aged ≥65 years admitted to an emergency department in Turkey because of blunt trauma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for 568 patients (314 women and 254 men) aged ≥65 years who were admitted to an emergency department of a tertiary care hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Trauma was caused by low-energy fall in 379 patients (67%), traffic accident in 79 patients (14%), high-energy fall in 69 patients (12%), and other causes in 41 patients (7%). The most frequent sites of injury were the lower extremity, thorax, upper extremity, and head. The femur was the most frequent fracture site. After evaluation in the emergency department, 377 patients (66%) were hospitalized. There were 31 patients (5%) who died. Risk of hospitalization after trauma was significantly associated with trauma to the lower extremity, thorax, and spine; fractures of the femur and rib; and intracranial injury.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Emergency department admission after trauma in patients aged ≥65 years is common after low-energy falls, and most injuries occur to the extremities. It is important to focus on prevention of falls to decrease the frequency of trauma in the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aysegul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bayir
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ak
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akinci
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Necmettin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tufekci
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Degirmenci
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Konya Numune Hospital, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Melih
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Azap
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology
keywords: fall; femur; fracture; injury