ABSTRACT
Trauma, in general, and polytrauma, in particular, is widely recognized as conditions afflicting the young. The elderly constitute an increasing proportion of polytraumatized patients. The sexual dimorphism of polytrauma in the elderly occurs at a rate that is neither consistent with the rate of low-energy injury in the elderly nor the rate of high-energy injury in the young. The little data available on polytrauma in the elderly suggest that we are slow to recognize it, slow to triage it and slow to manage it aggressively. Elderly polytrauma patients have worse outcomes and more complications than younger polytrauma patients and sustain more serious injuries with lower energy mechanisms. With increasing awareness of the prevalence and the individual and societal impact of polytrauma in the elderly, comes the realization that injury prevention in the population is paramount. The elderly make up the population demographic whose numbers are increasing at the greatest rate.
