Which is true regarding trauma in geriatric patients?
A. Admission GCS score after severe head injury is a good predictor of outcomeMortality in patients with severe head injury more than doubles after the age of 55 years. Moreover, 25% of patients with a normal GCS score of 15 had intracranial bleeding, with an associated mortality of 50%. Just as there is no absolute age that predicts outcome, admission GCS score is a poor predictor of individual outcome. Therefore, the majority of trauma centers advocate an initial aggressive approach with reevaluation at the 72-hour mark to determine subsequent care. Secondly, one of the most common sequelae of blunt thoracic trauma is rib fractures. In fact, in one study, 50% of patients older than 65 years sustained rib fractures from a fall of <6 ft, compared with only 1% of patients younger than 65 years. Concurrent pulmonary contusion is noted in up to 35% of patients, and pneumonia complicates the injuries in 10 to 30% of patients with rib fractures.