Polytrauma in the elderly

Twenty‐seven patients over 70 years old in a consecutive series of 300 patients (mean age 75.1 years) who had sustained polytrauma were compared to a group of 27 younger patients of that series (mean age 36.1 years) and were matched for similar patterns of injuries. The injury severity scores (ISS) were nearly equal in both groups. The amount of blood transfused, the shock index on arrival, the number of peritoneal lavages performed, and the number of chest drains inserted were similar in both groups. In general, the trauma‐causing injury in the older patients was substantially less severe than in the younger age group. Nearly all fractures were treated operatively in the younger patients, while equivalent fractures in the older group were more often treated conservatively. The greater mortality in the older patients was due to preexisting handicaps, which are disregarded by the ISS. Most of the older patients who survived could be satisfactorily rehabilitated. What causes and what are the injuries of the elderly polytrauma patient? How aggressive should the treatment be and to what degree is rehabilitation of survivors possible?