Author : Maureen R. Murphy
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781267662583
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (625 download)
Book Synopsis Increasing the Sensitivity of Trauma Triage Guidelines for Older Adults by : Maureen R. Murphy
Download or read book Increasing the Sensitivity of Trauma Triage Guidelines for Older Adults written by Maureen R. Murphy and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Background: The older adult is often undertriaged and is susceptible to serious injury from low level falls. Age-related physiologic changes and co-morbidities contribute to increased complication and mortality rates. Objective: The overarching goal of this study was to identify additional criteria that may increase the sensitivity of trauma triage guidelines for older adults who have fallen. The purpose was to examine associations between frequently used triage criteria (fall height, Glasgow Coma Scale "GCS" scores, blood pressure, heart rate, and age) and commonly used outcomes (Injury Severity Score "ISS", hospital length of stay "LOS", and hospital mortality) in older adults who have fallen. Method: This study used a cross-sectional retrospective review of a level 1 trauma center database and electronic medical record. The study sample included 1,088 patients age 50 years and older who had fallen from any height and experienced injury requiring admission to a level I trauma center between June 2006 and December 2010. Age, fall height, heart rate, blood pressure, GCS score, ISS, LOS, and hospital mortality data were collected. All study variables were analyzed for statistically significant relationships using Pearson's r correlation coefficient. Results: Seventy-nine percent of the sample fell five feet or less and ground level falls were the most common type of fall. There was a moderate negative correlation between fall height and age (p .01). A GCS of 14 was the most common score less than 15 and occurred 17% of the time. There was a moderate positive correlation between GCS and mortality (p .01). Hypotension and tachycardia rarely occurred. Conclusions: The findings from this study may provide insight into ways to increase the sensitivity of current trauma triage guidelines to more clearly identify the injured older adult, including adjustments to current triage variables, and/or combinations of triage criteria.