Prognosis of penetrating trauma in elderly patients: A comparison with younger patients

Background: It has previously been shown that elderly patients have a worse prognosis than their younger counterparts after sustaining blunt trauma. T his is due in part to a higher incidence of comorbid conditions as well as less physiologic reserve in an elderly population sustaining largely blunt trauma. We compared the outcome after penetrating trauma in elderly patient s to matched "younger" patients to determine whether they had a similarly p oor prognosis. Methods: Elderly patients (greater than or equal to 65 years) were identifi ed from our trauma registry. Sex, mechanism of injury, and Abbreviated Inju ry Score/Injury Severity Score were determined from the registry. Patients presenting with traumatic arrest were excluded. The registry was then searc hed for patients aged 15 to 40 years with the same sex, mechanism of injury , and Abbreviated Injury Score in each region. A chart review was then perf ormed to determine additional details of their hospital stay. The two group s were then compared using Student's t test and Fisher's exact chi(2) test, as appropriate. Results: Eighty-five elderly patients (OLD group) were admitted with penetr ating trauma between 1983 and 1998, They were compared with 85 matched youn g patients (YOUNG group). Each group included 66 male and 19 female patient s. In each group, gunshot wounds occurred in 45.9%, stab wounds in 52.9%, a nd shotgun wounds in 1.2% of patients. The average Injury Severity Score in each group was 5.5 +/- 5.6 (range, 1-29) and the regional Abbreviated Inju ry Scores were likewise equal in both groups. The OLD patients had an avera ge hospital stay of 6.9 +/- 9.1 days compared with 4.3 +/- 5.7 days in the YOUNG patients (p < 0.05). Twenty-seven OLD patients spent 7.3 +/- 9.2 days in the intensive care unit compared with 19 YOUNG patients who stayed 3.4 +/- 3.2 days (p < .05). A total of 91 comorbidities were identified in 58 O LD patients compared with 18 in 15 YOUNG patients (p < .0001). Eighty-six i nvasive procedures were performed in the OLD group compared with 96 in the YOUNG group (p = not significant). Nineteen OLD patients (22.3%) and 15 YOU NG patients (17.6%) suffered one or more complications, including death (p = not significant). A total of 91% of surviving OLD patients were discharge d to home compared with 100% of surviving YOUNG patients (p < .01), Conclusion: Elderly patients who sustain penetrating trauma have more co-mo rbidities than their younger counterparts. This may account for their longe r hospital stay and lesser ability to be discharged home. These patients do not have an increased complication rate and should continue to be managed aggressively.