Trauma in the Elderly

Abstract

Due to the increased ageing of the population observed in all developed countries, more and more elderly people (that is subjects ≥ 65 years old) are exposed to trauma [1]. Several factors account for this observation, including the prolongation of the active life, the reduction of the visual and acoustic capabilities, the slowing of reflexes, the loss of neuromotor co-ordination, and the effects of age-related diseases such as heart failure, osteoarthrosis, dementia etc. Altogether, these changes cause:

• a peculiar vulnerability of trauma-exposed tissues (i.e., fractures in ostheoporotic bones following minor trauma) [2, 3];

• a more or less marked loss of the functional reserve, in terms both of single organ [1] and/or systemic stress response [4];

• altered responses to stressful events due to the effects of drugs that can influence the compensatory mechanisms to trauma (i.e., diuretic-related hypovolaemia, β-blocking agents and/or Ca²⁺ receptor antagonist- induced bradycardia, etc) [5].