ANESTHESIOLOGICAL CARE OF ELDERLY TRAUMAT IZED PATIENTS

The age-specific mortality rate of traumatised patients is, for those older than 75 years, more than thirteen times as high as that in the a ge group 15-45 years. Injuries in the elderly patient follow an age-sp ecific dynamic course, which is characterised by physiological changes and a high prevalence of multimorbidity in old age. Thus, geriatric t rauma patients must not simply be considered to be older adults who ha ve suffered an injury. Major factors that determine the patient's chan ces of survival after experiencing a trauma are a reduction in the res erves of the organ systems together with accompanying diseases. Early invasive haemodynamic monitoring is a necessity for the detection of i mpaired peripheral perfusion and for selective volume replacement and anticholamine treatment The principles and particular features of acut e medical care in various patterns of injury together with their progn osis are discussed