Citation

Katz M, Okuma MAA, dos Santos ALG, Guglielmetti CLB, Sakaki MH, Zumiotti AV. Acta Ortop. Bras. 2008; 16(5): 279.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Sociedade Brasileira de Ortopedia e Traumatologia)

DOI

10.1590/S1413-78522008000500005

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The increasing proportion of elderly people in the world's population, together with improvements in their health status and the preventive support for this age group, have allowed them to have more active lifestyles, which have exposed them to higher risks of high-energy accidents and trauma. These patients have physiological characteristics, associated diseases, behavioral patterns and postoperative complications that lead to different systemic responses from those on other age groups. This study prospectively evaluated 28 patients aged over 65 years - 16 women and 12 men. The most prevalent trauma mechanism was trampling, which mainly resulted in leg fractures. The period of hospitalization for these patients was greater than in younger age groups, and 90% of the cases presented some type of clinical complication following osteosynthesis. Age alone acted as a positive predictive factor for such complications among patients with multiple traumas. Previous diseases and patients' ages did not have any influence on the development of orthopaedic complications. The injuries associated with the fractures presented a correlation with the trauma mechanism. These patients usually require surgery for definitive treatment of their fractures. Being older and presenting diseases prior to the accident did not increase the length of time before surgery.